Saroya's Adventures in JapanLand!: Into the Heart of Tokyo: The Imperial Palace

Before I go into my adventure at the Imperial Palace, I'll briefly describe my weekend activities, as I was very social. On Friday evening, after work, I took the trains down to Shinagawa and met up with Yan and his coworkers at an izakaya. After about an hour and a half, they decided that karaoke was the best plan of action following the izakaya. Naturally, I tagged along as I didn't have to make my last train until 11:40. So after a fun filled evening of loud social interaction topped off by listening to the attempts to rap in Japanese, Korean, and English, I boarded my train and headed home. Saturday I spent the day at the Imperial palace and in the evening, Chelsea (who just arrived in Tokyo) and I met up with Yan and his coworkers again to see the movie Inception in Shibuya. Inception was fabulous in a word. The plot was engaging, the script kept the dialogue interesting, Leonardo Di Caprio was intense, and the special effects were mind blowing. Not to mention that the ending tripped me out. Sunday, Chelsea and I ventured to Harajuku to do a little shopping (she needed some work shirts and I wanted to go to daiso to get some cheap foodstuffs for the week). Matt ended up meeting us there and together we wandered and ended up eating dinner at a tempura/udon/rice restaurant. After, Matt headed home and Chelsea and I wandered around Shibuya, stopping at Book Off for a good hour before tearing ourselves away and making our way back home. All in all, a pretty delightful weekend.

Anyway, Saturday afternoon. I awoke late in the morning, part of me not desiring to go out and rather just stay in until Chelsea arrived. However, I knew that this would be a mistake, as it was a beautiful day outside, and I would regret not going out and exploring later (despite how inviting staying in bed and watching Battlestar Galactica sounded). In the next hour, I was out the door, headed for the subway station, on my way to the center of the city (after consulting my Tokyo To Do list); I had decided to spend the afternoon wandering the vast East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, which is located in the heart of Tokyo. It's odd that I've been here for four weeks now and still hadn't gone. Well, I sought to remedy that this afternoon, despite the heat.

The imperial palace gardens are beautiful. I was utterly amazed by everything I saw. The palace itself is surrounded by a moat (yes a moat, just like in medieval times). There are four (?) bridges and gates to access the palace, though only three are open to the public. I went through the front gate, the Otemachi Station gate. Upon entering, I learned that admission was free, I just needed to leave by 5:00pm (not a surprise as most places close by five in Japan -- very frustrating in some cases). Anyway, with a map of the area in hand, I made moved away from the groups of gaijin tourists, towards the gardens.

One of the most distinctive parts of the Imperial Palace Gardens was the Ninomaru Garden. I wasn't entirely sure of where I was going (having put the map away and opting to explore mostly with my own eyes). Within this garden, there is a waterfall, and a specific grove of trees,

totaling in 260, each one representing a district or prefecture in the Tokyo Metropolis.

Anyway, I'm fairly sure that this is the most beautiful part of the garden, and considering the lack of an admission fee, I may return to it just to see it again. I think I spent a good thirty to forty minutes just wandering this section of the garden. There are a few wonderful hill top views that over look the entire grove and pond area. I was genuinely surprised though by the expanse and variety of the sights within the gardens. Everything is beautifully maintained and there doesn't seem to be a blade of grass out of place. Too bad it was dreadfully hot at the time I went to visit. And it was minorly busy (in terms of tourists).

This is one of my favorite buildings in the Imperial Palace Grounds. It is the music hall dedicated to Empress Kojun on her sixtieth birthday. Architecturally, I think it's stunning, with the half circles on the roof and its curved in walls (in addition to the fact that it is an octahedron). It looks like of like a flower, now that I think about it. And the mosaic walls are amazing feats of workmanship. Unfortunately, it is closed to the public so I have no idea what it looks like on the inside.

It was rather frustrating as the lighting kept changing throughout the day. For the first hour I was in the gardens, it was super bright and super hot (not entirely recommended as there aren't a great many of shady areas). Then the second hour it morphed into a little bit overcast, which was definitely more pleasant than having the hot, blaring sun beating mercilessly down upon you as you trekked across the vast concrete into the various areas of the grounds. Pictured at the right is the Fujimi-yagura. In the past, security patrols would watch from this tower for advancing enemies. Apparently, on a clear day, one is able to see Mt. Fuji from there. Of course now, with the Tokyo metropolis being populated with skyscrapers and filled with pollution like any other large urban hub, I doubt that this is no longer possible. Too bad it was fenced off though; I would've liked to see the view anyhow.

I wish I had more words to describe the gardens and what I saw, but I fear that I will just end up being redundant. The East Gardens are definitely not a sight to be missed if you ever visit Tokyo. I know that I will go back there, as the grounds are only 10-15 minutes away from where I work! Anyway, I'll leave you with a few more pictures, just to convince you of its beauty and grandeur.