SE Asia

We took a bus tour around Tokyo today. We were picked up about a 15 minute walk from our hotel at 8:00. The first stop was the Nijubashi Bridge to the Emperor of Japan's Palace. The palace grounds are only open to the public twice a year. Nice area, and it is 5km around the property surrounded by a moat. Next was the Asakusa Temple, which is the oldest in Tokyo, neat seeing people dressed in old style Kimono dresses in the area. Mostly toursist wearing these and you can rent them for the day. We went to a Macha tea ceremony as well. The next stop was the Yokohama Bayside area and Yamashita Park. Here, there is a replica of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty first appeared in Tokyo in 1998, borrowed from France as part of a one year celebration commemorating Japan's relationship with France. Later, because the statue was quite popular, France decided to make a copy to give to Japan, showing goodwill in bilateral relations between the two countries. In the same area, we saw the Fuji TV building, the Giant Transformer Robot Gundam, and the tulips garden. We had a great buffet lunch at Hilton Hotel. Afterward, we took a short cruise to tour the Tokyo Bay, and then the final stop was the Tokyo Tower. The tour bus dropped us off at the Tokyo station at around 5:30 = RUSH HOUR lol! Fighting the crowds and figuring out train routes back to Shinjuku was a challenge, but we made it. Back at the hotel, having a glass of wine and going to try the hotel restaurant as it is raining again.Weiterlesen