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Blue Bottle Coffee Kiyosumi Shirakawa Flagship Cafe
The popular coffee shop born in California, USA opened the first shop in Japan in October, 2019, as Kiyosumi Shirakawa Flagship Cafe.
The building’s exterior is sleek and stylish, and the interior feels open and bright. But the overall atmosphere is a bit hard to warm up to, lacking some of the comfort and relaxed feel you’d expect from a coffee shop. It felt like the kind of photo-op spot that you only need to visit once.
Lake Biwa
Lake Biwa, which belongs to the first-grade Yodo River system and is located in the center of Shiga Prefecture, occupies an area of about 670 k㎡, or about one-sixth of the prefecture's land area, and is the largest lake in Japan in terms of both area and water storage capacity, with 27.5 billion tons of water pouring in through rivers from the surrounding mountains of Ibuki, Suzuka, and Hira, all of which are over 1,000 meters high.
Even though Lake Biwa is a lake, it feels as vast as the ocean, so there are many ways to enjoy it. Whether you take a relaxing walk along the shore or look down on it from above, the views from every angle are picturesque. The calm surface of the lake also has a soothing effect and makes you feel at peace.
Omokagebashi Bridge
Omokagebashi is a bridge spanning the Kanda River, a first-class river in Tokyo, connecting Toshima Ward and Shinjuku Ward. It is also the name of a tram stop on the Toden Arakawa Line, affectionately known as "Tokyo Sakura Tram." In spring, it's a popular spot for cherry blossom viewing, attracting numerous visitors.
From Takato Bridge to Edogawabashi, about 2 kilometers of the riverside are lined with cherry trees, and the area around Omokagebashi Bridge has the densest concentration.
I started from Edogawabashi that day. There were some people along the way, but it never felt crowded, so I could freely capture the quiet beauty of the cherry blossoms reflected on the water and the way they cascaded down like a waterfall.
Even though the blossoms were not yet in full bloom when I visited, the feeling of spring was still unforgettable. If you do not enjoy overly crowded tourist spots, the Kanda River is absolutely worth a visit.