Tokyo Day 3

After a long FaceTime with Ruben and Tete ( getting ducks in a row for Caro to head down to Cancun) and a couple of shorter ones with Lisa and Vanessa ( to show them the room and the toilet-LOL) we headed out on the metro with the goal of seeing the Imperial Palace and grounds. 

“Our”metro line took us right there so “that” was easy. 

We inquired about the palace tours and were told to go to a specific spot about 12:10 to ensure we got one of the 300 spots. As we had 30 minutes to spare we walked around the East Garden area but really at this time of the year it is nothing special. 

At 12:10 we went to the indicated spot and waited til 12:30 at which point we were given a ticket which guaranteed our partition in the guided tour beginning at 1:30 so we walked around some more!

By 1:30 we were in a hall with everyone and announcements were made in 6 languages indicating there would be 6 different language groups, each with their own specific language guide. 

The tour was good but there are only a few remnants of the old buildings due to a massive fire in the 1600’s ( with some buildings not being rebuilt ) and the Americans bombing Tokyo heavily in WW2.  

From there it was a two block walk to the Tokyo Station where we again fought the crowds, got lost in the maze of shops and concourses leading to the multitude of train lines, before we relocated  the toy store area we were in yesterday. We purchased some souvenirs for the little ones and decided to get something to eat. 

Caro had wanted to try some sushi so we found a stand up sushi place and we each sampled a three piece shrimp sushi. No forks were given to us so managed to use the chop sticks provided. 

We stepped out into the crowds again, turned right and were immediately in front of a dumpling restaurant ( I think). Anyway we went inside for a sit down snack of crab and shrimp wrapped in some sort of dumpling ( with a Japanese beer shared between us). I found both places had tasty food. 

We finally made it back out to  street level and worked our way back to the metro station ( which we could have completed underground from the train station but it was too complicated). Four stops later we were at our stop and back in the hotel by about 5 PM

For our last evening in Tokyo ( that is not in an airport) we went to a nearby restaurant and shared a plate of Japanese style spaghetti and a couple of beers. We then walked the small streets of this vibrant area of the city. There are many restaurants, bars and shops. We found a great  store to buy the last of our souvenirs. This place had no English translation on its checkout machine  so a local helped us ( the people here have been extremely friendly to us whenever we have needed help).