We hit the breakfast buffet at 7:30 AM so we could be out of the hotel just after 8.
Today's itinerary was handled by Hato Bus. There were only 17 people on our tour, departing from the bus terminal at Tokyo Station.
Our tour guide, Keiko, was simply effervescent, with a funny laugh that was often at her own comments.
The first stop was at the Imperial Palace, which we had walked around in the rain that first night. It seems very long ago. Keiko explained the story behind this statue of Kusunoki Masashige, the legendary samurai.
A small crowd had gathered by the entrance, which is only open to the public twice per year: once around New Year's Day, and once on the emperor's birthday.
There are two bridges leading into the palace, the "stone bridge" and the "iron bridge". The iron bridge is apparently called the "double bridge", because it used to be a double-decker, wooden bridge.
DO NOT RUN in this park. So many rules.
The well-manicured lawn and meticulously trimmed trees looked fake, as if rendered in a computer game, but they forgot to add the grass texture.
Next, we bussed over to Asakusa, to Sensō-ji. Yesterday was apparently a holiday (Vernal Equinox Day), and Keiko suspected people had a four-day weekend, so the area around the temple was very crowded for a Friday.
She demonstrated how to use the fortune sticks; if you receive a bad fortune, you tie it around an adjacent wire fence sort of thing and leave it behind.
We did not stop to see the temple for long, as we were on our way to have tea.
Keiko recalled the time she was giving a tour here during a very large earthquake, during which everyone had to sit down to avoid falling over, when they watched this pagoda sway back and forth.
The tea house was just past the temple; we had a private matcha session with a licensed Tea Master.
As part of the session, we took turns hand-grinding matcha.
We also whisked our own matcha tea. Michael and Sabrina demonstrate proper form.
Keiko came around and took photos for everyone. She was an absolute gem throughout the entire tour.
After tea, we had about an hour to wander around the area. As there was essentially a food festival happening in the grounds around the temple, we didn't have to go far to find snacks.
Michael stays hydrated with Japan's finest, Pocari Sweat.
Back at the temple, the crowds had grown even thicker.
The cloud of incense was substantial. Keiko had mentioned that it heals various ailments, so it was important to get a waft of it.
We attemped to walk down the main street to the temple gate, but it was an impenetrable wall of humanity, so we gave up and went out into Asakusa instead.
The weather was finally warm enough to enjoy strolling around without jackets.
As it approached noon, we circled around towards the tour bus parking area.
Back on the bus, we endured Tokyo traffic on the way to Odaiba, crossing the Rainbow Bridge to the artificial island ("reclaimed land", as Keiko described it). As we drove around, she pointed out various landmarks and buildings, answered questions, and taught us some Japanese words (with cue cards to assist).
The Fuji building is a prominant landmark, with its enormous spherical observation room.
A short walk to the other side of a shopping mall, we visited the full-sized Unicorn Gundam.
Walking back the other way, toward the water, we spotted the Statue of Liberty in the distance, which was a bit odd.
It's a 1/7th-size replica that's been here since 1998.
Walking along the waterfront, we found this unusual ferry. I have no idea where it goes, but I might have convinced Sabrina that it was a submarine.
Farther along the walk, we got a closer view of the Fuji building.
At 1:30, we all met back at the Hilton hotel for a buffet lunch. It happened to themed "Celebration of Strawberries" or something like that, so we sampled just about every strawberry item they had.
After lunch, we returned to the bus for a short trip over to the waterfront just across the water from Odaiba, where we boarded the Symophony Classica for a short cruise around the bay.
The gift shop had some interesting items, including this confection in a ship-shaped box, and miniature Hato busses.
We were offered coffee and tea while the ship departed from the wharf while the... captain? gave a short talk in Japanese. After, he handed the microphone to a surprised Keiko, who translated the overview to English for us.
As most of the point of the harbor cruise was to see the city from the water, we went up to the top deck, then climbed the stairs up to the roof.
Fun fact: the Photos app on macOS identifies this skyline as "Miami". I suppose that means it isn't using the location metadata.
Back inside, a woman played saxophone covers with a backing track. I'm no expert, but we all agreed that she seemed to know what she was doing.
The harbor tour was about an hour, so we were back to solid land around 4 PM.
Next-and-final stop: Tokyo Tower. We took the elevator to the mid-tower observation level, 150 meters (about 500 feet) up.
Keiko took us around the circular platform, pointing out buildings and locations where we'd been earlier today.
She found it particularly amusing that this high school is adjacent to a graveyard. That's Keiko's sense of humor for you.
A different temple, seen from above. I think it's Zōjō-ji.
To the west, it's impossible to miss the (current) tallest building in Japan, Azabudai Hills. Apparently there's a new building under construction (that we passed, earlier) that will steal this title when it is complete in several years.
The upper level of the two-floor observation platform has these fun glass panels in the floor, so you can look down at the tower.
A few people on the tour decided to end at the tower. The bus took the rest of us back to Tokyo Station.
During the ride, Michael had investigated our train ticket options for tomorrow, and discovered some complications. Back at the station, we found a tapas bar where we could sit for a drink and discuss our options.
The train we'd been hoping to take (tomorrow morning) was sold out, so we'd have to take an earlier one, and we had to purchase separate express tickets to augment the normal transit card fare. After sorting all of that, we split up for dinner and headed out into the night.
Sabrina and I attempted to go to a conveyor-belt restaurant near the station, which was difficult to find as it was on the fifth floor of a large building. Once we found it, we learned that it was full for tonight.
We enjoyed a quiet elevator ride back to street level. So many rules.
Not easily deterred, we found another one just a few blocks away, and waited about 20 minutes for two seats at a counter.
Ordering is all via touch screen, and then small plates arrive on the top level "express lane", delivered straight to your seat. The lower conveyor belt is a non-stop stream of condiments and advertisements, as far as I could tell.
My favorite was the mini-hamburger sushi.
Although the parma ham and mozzarella, fried chicken, and the egg omelet was also good.
We ate our fill for just over $20 equivalent, including drinks. We were done in about half an hour, which was good because we had to get back to the hotel and get to bed early.
Tomorrow, we need to be out the door around 5:30 AM to catch a subway over to Asakusa, where we will board a 6:30 train to Nikkō.
1 comment:
Welcome to Miami!
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