Tokyo Travels - Day 4

[hornetgirl]

Day four

We were up bright and early and once again had breakfast in the hotel. Once again it was busy but we were shown straight to a table. The buffet selection was the same as yesterday.

Duly fuelled, it was time to brave the trains all by ourselves. Our first port of call today was the Imperial Palace Gardens East. The gardens aren’t open every day, and if there are bank holidays, there are changes to the opening schedule, so check before you visit.

We paid our entrance fee and received a little plastic ticket, which had to be surrendered on departure.
The gardens were beautifully kept as you might expect. Some areas looked very manicured, while others were more wild and natural.

The contrast between the old of the gardens and the new of the cityscape was fascinating to see.

The irises and wisteria were just coming into bloom.

Once again it was a very warm day but there were some lovely cooling walks alongside the water.

Time for a quick bathroom break. It was good to see such comprehensive handwashing instructions on the wall.

There was also a choice of Japanese or western style toilet cubicles on offer. Near the restroom was the ubiquitous vending machine. Sean sensibly opted for a coke and I decided to try a cold tea drink.

It was refreshing but quite thick and filling and I couldn’t finish it all.
By now the gardens were beginning to get quite busy so we decided to move onto our next destination, the National Museum. To get to the entrance we had to walk through a part of Ueno Park, which was hosting some kind of para-sporting/rock concert type event. We watched for a few minutes but not much seemed to be happening, so we headed on to the museum.

This was somewhere else we could have spent far longer if we hadn’t been time constrained. There were just so many beautiful things to see. It was ok to photograph most exhibits, but some had little signs saying it wasn’t allowed. The curators were very quick to stop anyone who tried to photograph anything they shouldn’t.

Time ran away with us and it was gone three o’clock before we realised we hadn’t eaten. There was a little restaurant in the museum grounds which we decided to try as we were so hungry. We were given a ticket at the entrance then invited to sit in a waiting area until we were called. Despite most tables being empty, we had to wait for about 10 minutes.
I had a bento set and Sean had a tempura set, both of which were extremely good.

We had intended to eat lunch at a sensible time then have a little wander round Ueno Park but as it was much later than planned and the park was really crowded, we decided to fit in a little shopping instead and took the train to Ginza, which is a lovely upmarket shopping district. Lots of the high end international brands have stores here.

My destination was Itoya, seven floors of stationery heaven. I’m a bit of a closet card maker and wanted to get some bits and pieces that would be different to what’s available at home. My goodness was I spoilt for choice. I filled my bag with a lovely selection of papers and stamps, as well as a Mickey head punch. Luckily I had trouble converting yen to sterling, so I have no idea how much I spent

No other purchases were made but we had a little wander around window shopping. Whether it was because it was a weekend or a bank holiday I don’t know, but the main road had been closed to traffic, which was lovely.

Back onto the train because it was now time to go and have a look at the infamous Shibuya Crossing. We watched a few times through the window in the upper level of the station first, before going down and giving it a go ourselves. We agreed on where we would meet if we got split up and off we set. It actually wasn’t too bad – just focus on where you want to get to and keep walking.

As we didn’t manage to get to the big Daisu store in Harajuku yesterday, we decided to visit the smaller Shibuya branch instead. It wasn’t on the main drag but thanks to our portable wifi device we were able to find it easily enough. The ground floor was a bit disappointing but upstairs was crafters heaven so I loaded up with even more cardmaking bits, including some decorative Disney tape. Although I bought a lot, everything was only 100 yen, so it was excellent value.

Done for the day, we headed back to the hotel and once again popped down to the little store in the subway mall to get some ice creams, drinks and snacks.

[Guest]

I'm loving how quick you're doing your report! Lots of lovely pictures!

[Melbatb]

What a lovely day - all these reports on Japan are making me yearn to go back!

I love the Japanese "dollar" stores - they had some in KL which I spent quite a lot of time in!

[hornetgirl]

Originally Posted by princess_chazy

I'm loving how quick you're doing your report! Lots of lovely pictures!

See more...

If I'm not quick I'll forget too many of the details I wrote some notes for the first couple of days but that didn't last long lol

[hornetgirl]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

What a lovely day - all these reports on Japan are making me yearn to go back!

I love the Japanese "dollar" stores - they had some in KL which I spent quite a lot of time in!

See more...

It was like an Aladdin's cave.
I'd love to go back too. We only went to Tokyo but there's so much more I'd like to see.

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Great write up again
We will visit the imperial gardens this time as when we went it was closed which we did not know!

Food is just lovely!

We have been trying to work out the train announcements in Japanese for next time but already we have run out of days for all the things to see again

[hornetgirl]

Originally Posted by kevin_cambs_uk

Great write up again
We will visit the imperial gardens this time as when we went it was closed which we did not know!

Food is just lovely!

We have been trying to work out the train announcements in Japanese for next time but already we have run out of days for all the things to see again

See more...

Wow, good luck with the train announcements. We tried to learn a bit of Japanese before we went but the guy on the CD we had spoke so quickly we only managed to commit a handful of words to memory

[brindle]

My Dd is in Japan at the mo lovin reading about your trip. They have been to universal japan and I am enjoying some what's ap photos from her. 😊

[hornetgirl]

Originally Posted by brindle

My Dd is in Japan at the mo lovin reading about your trip. They have been to universal japan and I am enjoying some what's ap photos from her. 😊

See more...

I bet she's having a lovely time, it really is an amazing place to visit.

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Originally Posted by hornetgirl

Wow, good luck with the train announcements. We tried to learn a bit of Japanese we went but the guy on the CD we had spoke so quickly we only managed to commit a handful of words to memory

See more...

Its not easy!

I downloaded all the station jingles to my phone, so when I get a txt you think the Yamanote train is arriving!