Day 6: Another whirlwind tour of Tokyo

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Saturday was the last day with my mom and Aunt Heather. It was up to me to give them a whirlwind tour of Tokyo's major sites.

I re-traced most of the steps that Rusty and I had taken on Monday. First stop was the Imerial Palace Gardens. This time the gardens were open so we were able to go inside. it was another extremely hot and sunny day. The gardens were a nice, relaxing visit with ponds and flower gardens surrounded by the high, stone walls of the palace. We walked across the grounds again to take pictures at the bridge and of the palace. Then it was off to Asakusa and Senso-ji temple, then to Ueno to Ameyhoko Market for lunch.

We had lunch at a traditional Japanese tatami-matted restaurant where we had to sit cross legged on the floor at our table for our tempura and tonkatsu (fried pork) lunches. We had discovered that our hotel offered a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, so it was back across town tot he hotel again after lunch.

We ended up being the only people at the Japanese tea ceremony, so we had a private ceremony performed for us by a woman in full kimono. The tea ceremony was developed during the 16th century and as per tradition, the tea room is very plain with only a hanging scroll and flower arrangement in the tatami-matted room. The ceremony is a very ritualistic process with specific steps and actions performed. We were told when to bow when we received our tea, how to eat the traditional Japanese sweets, and how to drink our bowl of Macha, or powdered green tea- you have to hold it in one hand and turn it around with the other, then drink. It was great to watch and even better to be a part of. I really enjoyed it.

After the calmness of the tea ceremony we went to Shibuya crossing, the world's busiest intersection. After some shopping and dinner, that was pretty much it for our tour of Tokyo. If you need to, you can see most major attractions in the city in a single, busy day.

My mom and Heather left for the airport Sunday morning and it was back to Fukushima for me. All in all, I had a great week in Tokyo. it's nice to get out of a smaller city like Fukushima and see something different for a change. I saw some great things my week in Tokyo and I really enjohyed having my family with me, even though it was only for a few days. i still can't believe they were here to see me in Japan!

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Photos

Imperial Palace
The willow tree-lined moat surrounding the Imperial Palace with Tokyo's skyscrapers in the background.

Imperial Garden
Inside the East garden.

Girls
We met 3 girls in Asakusa who had an English assignment to interview foreigners. They asked us questions about where we were from, and what we throught about Japan.

Hotel view
The view from our hotel of the Akasaka area.

Incense
Temples have large incense burners. People gather around the incense and wash the smoke over their body, concentrating on the parts that hurt or that they have trouble with.

Ceiling
The ceiling inside the temple.

Buddha
A Buddha statue at the temple.

Tea Ceremony
Making the tea...

Tea Ceremony Room
The plain ceremony room.

Crows
Crows in Japan are giant, raven-sized birds.