Saturday, December 13, 2014

Japan - East Garden; Ginza; Shibuya


Sunday was my last full day in Japan. I started off at the Imperial Palace by Tokyo Station. It was another place from my 2007 trip that I revisited. Unless you're able to score an Imperial Palace tour you'll be limited to viewing Nijubashi bridge and the East Garden like I was again.

Like some of the temples in Nara, part of the building behind the bridge was under renovation and covered up. Annoying.

The East Garden in autumn was nice. There were spots of red, yellow and orange amongst the greenery. Though in a couple parts of the garden I noticed remnants of blossoms in some of the trees. Weird. I have to say, though cool in the morning and at night, the temperatures there during the day were quite warm.
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Jeff's adventure with an empty, plastic water bottle.

After getting off the subway train at Tokyo Station I noticed an empty, plastic water bottle rolling around on the platform. I was surprised to see it because Japan is an incredibly clean place. I rarely saw trash anywhere.

Not wanting to leave it there I decided to pick it up and toss it in the proper receptacle (trash or recycling). I looked around the platform and saw nothing. So I carried the bottle upstairs into the main part of the station and, again, didn't see any sort of receptacle.

So I exited the station and walked through the underground pathway towards the Imperial Palace. There wasn't anything in there either. Upon arriving outside at street level I looked around. There was nothing to been seen in any direction anywhere.

I made it to the Imperial Palace grounds some 15-20 minutes later and notice a bathroom. Finally, I thought, a place with a trash can. I was wrong. Nothing in there either. I left the plastic bottle inside anyway.

Such a clean city with no trash cans! How annoying!
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After visiting the East Garden I went over to Ginza. It's a ritzy part of town with expensive stores that I only walk by (not go into).

On Sundays they close the roads to vehicular traffic and pedestrians take over streets. They even put chairs and small tables out for people to lounge on. Rich people get tired shopping you know.

I noticed an assortment of people with their various pets out. One fellow brought his two cats (well, one was a kitten) and set them on a low street sign to enjoy the view. They were a magnet for photographers and the curious like me.

Another fellow dressed his dogs up and paraded them around. People seemed to think that was funny too.

And yet another fellow had his pet rabbit which he allowed to hop around and let people snap pictures and pet him.

So, besides all the fancy stores, I took a fair number of animal shots there too.
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After that I decided to grab a bite. I headed west over to Shibuya again. I didn't wander around too much since I had gone there the day before. This time I was strictly in search of food.

Of course I wanted to try something different - this time Ramen. I managed to find a place with an English menu and ordered a combo of a bowl of ramen with a smaller bowl of rice with a piece of fried pork on the side. All for under $10 (Y980).

Not bad. Not bad at all.
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That was pretty much the extent of my trip. Monday was my last half day before heading home. I went back to Shibuya to grab a bite to eat. There was a restaurant that had omurice (which is basically flavoured rice wrapped in an egg omelette with sauce and various toppings if you wish).

After that I hopped on the subway and headed for Haneda. I got there at least 6 hours before my flight. I really didn't want to be late.

I spent most of the time either sitting and resting or wandering around the airport taking photos.

Naomi almost missed the plane because she couldn't get a connecting flight from Osaka to Haneda because the hourly flights were all booked. She ended up flying to Narita and took the bus from there to Haneda. It was close, but we both made it back to Toronto on schedule.

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