Friday, July 31, 2015

Japan Day 8 - Imperial Palace in Tokyo

Some of us did some wandering around.  We got a little lost from confusing Shimbishi, Shambuya and Shinagawa stops on the subway.  Even still, we did eventually find our way to the Tokyo Imperial Palace.  The Tokyo Imperial Palace has grand walls, but once you are inside, it really is apparent that the purpose of the palace is to create a calm atmosphere.  The gardens are modest, surrounding a large and open grassy field.  Most of the buildings are also modest compared to what one might expect for something labelled "Imperial Palace".   Entrance is free.

The day was hot, sticky and bright, so I made a special effect to reserve myself to the shade where I could.

Approaching the palace


Guard house

Palace gardens

Locals appear to visit regularly to relax, meet, and even sunbath (modestly) on the grassy field at the center of the Palace gardens.

 
Observatory (higher ground for a bit of a better view)


Ruins of the major donjon


Famous Guard Tower @ the Forbidden Gate

There's a bit more do the palace than these exterior photos, but every thing seems to be of a modest nature.

Japan Day 7 - Mount Fuji thinks it defeated me, but I got ice cream!

A group of us had a plan to hike up Mount Fuji.  There is a fair amount of preparation necessary for such an endeavor.   You need comfortable hiking shoes, water proof outer clothing, jacket, hiking pants, etc.  You also need to pack a lunch or bring enough money to buy the expensive food on the mountain.  You'll need some money to take care of other business too.  There is a 100 to 200 yen "donation" required for use of the restrooms.


The mountain beckons!


Getting ready for the hike at Station 5.


View on my way up


I made it to Station 7!  Yeah!


I made it to Station 8!  But, my pace was too slow to keep going and still have time to get back to Station 5 in time for transportation. So...


I found the Station 8 bailout point and headed back down the mountain.


The view was nice up there, being above the clouds.


Heading back down



After I got back to civilization....


...I got myself a green tea ice cream, and all was better.  I then waited for the rest of the team to return from the peak.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Japan Day "4-6" - Great sushi and a view to pee by

For the next few days of my visit to Japan, I was working.  I'm not going to get into that, other than to show you the view I had from the men's restroom.  Yes, there are huge and open windows into the restroom.  It was a little unnerving when trying to pee, even if I was looking the other way.  Even with that awkwardness, the view is still very nice.


When went out for dinner each evening.  On the way back to the hotel on the first evening, I found this interesting building with a big globe within.


The next evening, we went to this one restaurant that had awesome sushi.  I was in heaven.  Unfortunately for us English speaking folk, there was no English name for the restaurant, so I cannot really tell you where it was directly.  However, I was able to tag it in my Instagram account.  You can try to track it down from there if you are so inclined and tech savvy.