Sunday – March 20, 2016
View of the city from our eighth floor hotel window:
We had a short orientation and met the other fourteen members of our tour group. We also met Joe, the tour leader, and Yukiko, our local Japanese guide. It was Sunday morning and the street outside the hotel was quiet and empty:
We all boarded a bus for our tour of Tokyo. Our first stop was the Imperial Palace Garden. The bus drove around the vast park which is the home of the current emperor and empress of Japan.
The white building in the photo above is a guard house. The palace is surrounded by a high wall and a wide moat and is not visible by the general public.
Part of the moat and guard houses:
Joggers, cyclists, and families enjoy the gardens:
Next we visited the Senso-ji Shrine which was crowded with extended families enjoying a spring holiday Sunday.
Another bridal party arrived at the shrine in traditional clothes and entourage.
We drove to the famous Ginza district known for its world class shopping.
We bought fun ‘bento box’ lunches at Mitsukoshi department store’s fabulous food court and had a picnic outside on the ninth floor terrace.
The main street was closed to traffic and a folk singer provided entertainment for the crowds. We strolled along the avenue for several blocks with the shoppers.
Our final destination of the day was the controversial Yushukan Military and War Museum located within the Yasukuni Shrine compound. The museum, which was established in 1882, is dedicated to the “souls of soldiers who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan.”
Dinner was at a Japanese restaurant near the hotel:
