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It was an eventful week with a day trip to see the Snow Monkeys, a special visit to the Imperial Palace, and a visit to the dentist. We put on yet another 30 plus miles of walking...had a grand another grand bike ride along the riverfront, and did some final planning for our next month in Osaka.
Here's a link to the Monkeys in case you missed it the first time...
Snow Monkeys of Nagano
Here's a link to our dental adventure...
A Visit to the Dentist
We had a lot of fun posting our "invitation" from the royal family to spend the day with them at the Imperial Palace. No, we did not actually meet them, but our invitation was for real. In order to visit the palace you must first apply online, very much as you do for a visa. You submit your passport, visas if required, and complete an application. It is then vetted and if you are accepted, you receive a permission number and an invitation. It took about two weeks for the process and in the end we were greeted at the gate and escorted around the grounds of the palace. We did not enter any of the buildings, but had plenty of opportunities to peer through a few of the windows at some of the audience rooms.
The gardens outside of the main gate.
The Kiko-mon Gate.
Offices of the military guard.
Family name symbols cut into the stones that make up the wall surrounding the palace...cira 1425 AD.
One of the "wall houses" dating back to 1167 and moved here when the palace was first built in 1425 AD.
The House Management Office - offices of the chief steward and administrative staff. When the palace was bombed and destroyed during WWII this building served as the official home of the emperor until 1968.
The main reception hall where all dignitaries are met, entertained, and special functions are held. It is huge running the length of two football fields...and ironically completely void of an permanent furniture. It is a large open hall, just like you would see at a convention center back home. It is set up, furnished, and decorated specifically for each and every event.
The formal entrance.
These walls surround the imperial residence. It sits high up on a slope about the moat facing the city.
Entrance to the Emperor's Palace. He was not home today.
Surrounding gardens.
Our private tour was about two hours, led by charming attendants that did not speak English. We were a reasonable group of about 100.
Following our visit, we went to the East Gardens. They are open to the public on Tues, Wed, and Thursday.
Garden Gate.
One of several guardhouses. The gardens were the original site of the Shoegun palaces and there are a series of three walls and four gates to get inside.
This moat surrounds the entire complex. Once crossed we were back in the city and headed for the metro.
This building is a metro station.
Lots of school groups were wandering the corridors.
We visited the Ginza area, the last district on our to-do list and view the Kabuki theater from the outside.
We found an unusual Buddhist temple designed in the Indian style. It was the first temple we had ever been in that had seating, an organ, and looked more like a church.
We enjoyed our bag lunch in a lovely garden with the fellow watching over us before heading back to the house for late evening of dinner and a movie.
Our final days in Tokyo revolved around getting our paperwork ready for our China Visa submission, getting our luggage weight down once again...we are not at 20 pounds, and readying the apartment for our departure. The menu for our last few days was interesting as we attempted to use up all of our groceries and supplies. In the end there was litttle left.
We dropped off a couple of boxes of "donations" with the staff of the apartment complex. It was well received. Tomorrow we head out at 10AM to begin our trek to Haneida Airport and on to Kobe and Osaka for another month in this wonderous land.
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