Tried to get out early again today. After breakfast I went to the Shinagawa station near the hotel and wanted to exchange my Kyoto bullet train tickets from 8:10 am to the 9:40 train. I was afraid that I wouldn't get to eat breakfast if I took the earlier train and I needed to get the reservations for the trip back on the first. Mission accomplished.
From there I headed to the Imperial Palace Grounds. Since this is Sunday there was less people on the subway (at least at 7:45 am) and the palace grounds themselves were not busy-yet. I managed to get there around 8:30 am and the gates don't open until 9 am. But since it was quiet I was able to take some pictures and wander a bit. Today was less sunny and also more cool than the other two days and I thought it might rain later. The Imperial Palace Grounds are another massive complex and smack dab in the middle of the city. The complex had all kids of remains of the stone walls with moats as well as several gardens. It really is quite lovely and I think in the spring with the flowers in bloom it would be magnificent.
It took me a while to walk around the complex, as there were hills and steep areas to climb. I didn't see everything but what I did see was lovely. You can't actually go into the palace (at least that is what I understood from the guard and his limited English- but it might have been because it was Sunday). The highlight was probably the stone bridge which I am sure you have seen in pictures. I managed to get several shots of the bridge before the bus load of Aisan tourists showed up.
After I exited the complex (at the other end of the gate than where I entered- there are several gates), I took the subway to the Tokyo Tower area. The Tokyo Tower is a replica of the Eiffel Tower and I honestly am not sure what the deal is with that. I do know that there is a super steep hill you have to walk up to get to the tower area and it is very touristy in side. But that's cool. After that walk up the hill, I was paying to go up the elevator to the top. It was 900 yen (about $9 USD) to take the trip up to the top so that you can take pictures. I did take pictures. However, I neglected to recall that I really don't like heights. And so I got as close to the "edge" of the window as I was able to. No judgement.
After taking the elevator down to the lower level again (yay!), I found a place amongst the cafes and "fast food" type eateries where I could have something to eat and not die. It was basically a rice/beef bowl. It was delicious. And again, I didn't die. So there's that.
Heading out to the street level again, I headed back to the Marriott for my mid-day rest. It waas well past lunchtime and since I had my non lethal lunch at the tower it was time for a rest. I did stop at the basement food area outside the Shinegawa station to grab some bottles of whiskey for Don. They had smaller bottles and I picked up a few for him as a gift. Who knew that Japanese Whiskey was a thing? I sure didn't.
After a rest, I headed back out again. This time to the Shinjuku area of the city where there was a massive department store and with it, a basement food area that is said to be very famous. I found it no problem. The department store was very high end, but the food basement was incredible! I mean, most of the stuff they had there would kill me in 10 minutes or less but it was amazing! I bought some tea as well as some rice crackers that the women assured me had not touched any shellfish. They since there wasn't anything Japanese that I could eat there, I found a french type bakery which sold ham/cheese sandwich on a baguette. Dinner. You do what you can. A quick stop for ice cream as well as I headed to the station and it was a complete meal. I also picked up a fabulous eclair for the snack at the hotel with a cup of tea. By this time it was dark, and starting to rain. It was that damp, raw rain and I was getting chilled. I decided to call it an early night- and headed back to the Marriott to pack for the train tomorrow and also eat my eclair! It sounds like I didn't do that much today but I really did. I find that everything takes a little longer as it is difficult to find places- I seem to get turned around easily here.
Tomorrow? Kyoto!
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