Tuesday, 15 October. This was the day we were off to Tokyo. Tom, Jane and I left Tom's at 7:45 and caught the 9:21 bullet train (Shinkansen) in Kyoto. It was a very comfortable ride. We were in Tokyo in two and a half hours. We took a taxi to the New Sanno Hotel, a U.S. military facility run by the Navy. It's located in the Minami-Azubu section, right next to the French Embassy. We had reserved two rooms, but they asked if we'd accept one suite because they were over booked for the regular rooms. As an incentive, they offered a rate lower than one regular room would cost, and we took it.

We had lunch in the hotel snack bar. After we unpacked, we explored the Navy Exchange and the concessionaires in the hotel. Jane and I also booked a "Tokyo Cityrama Tour" for the next morning. At that point, I went out to explore the area while Jane and Tom rested. We considered having dinner in the nearby Ripongi area, noted for its night life, but with Tom's early eating habits, we would have been finished before anyone else arrived. So at 6:00 we checked out the various restaurants in the hotel and finally had dinner in the Emporium. The food and service were very good. Afterwards, we watched television for a short while before retiring. 

Meiji Shrine

Ready for the Tokyo city tour

Wednesday, 16 October. Jane and I had the big buffet breakfast in the Emporium. The bus picked us up for our city tour at 8:40 and took us to the Hamamatsucho Station where the tour was to begin at 9:00. We were surprised and pleased to discover that specific seats were assigned on the tour bus, something we'd never encountered before. Like most city tours, few stops were scheduled, but the guide was constantly pointing out places of interest as we drove by them. Tokyo's World Trade Center was the first such building. Shortly after, we drove by the Tokyo Tower, which we intended to visit on our own that afternoon. We passed through Rippongi and finally came to our first stop, the Meiji Shrine. The original shrine was built (1920) to honor the emperor Meiji after his death, but it was destroyed during World War II. Like many of the historic old structures in Japan, it has been rebuilt. It boasts the world's largest wooden torii.

Sake barrels at Meiji Shrine

Gate at Meiji Shrine

Jane at purification fountain

Jane at the Imperial Palace

 

Back on the bus, we drove down streets lined with ginkgo trees, past the National Stadium (1958), site of the 1964 Olympics; the Akasaka Palace, modeled on the Versailles Palace and now the State Guest House for visiting dignitaries; the western-style National Diet Building, seat of the legislature; and around the walls and moat of the Imperial Palace. Our second stop was at the Palace, or rather its East Garden, the only part open to the public. The guide led us on a half-hour stroll through the garden.

Wall & moat of Imperial Palace

Guardhouse (center)

East Garden of Imperial Palace

As the bus headed south, we passed some beautiful fountains; the old Tokyo railroad station (1914); and the Akihabra district, crammed with electronics stores. Finally we came to our next stop, the Nakamise shopping street and the Asakusa (or Senso)Temple. The bus dropped us at the entrance to the Nakamise, and we took a leisurely stroll among the myriad vendors' stalls.

Entrance to Nakamise Market

Nakamise Market

Picking up the kids  at Nakamise day care

As we emerged at the opposite end, we were at a gate with a huge red lantern. This is the entrance to the Asakusa Temple, the oldest in Tokyo. Its Main Hall is said to date from 645 A.D., but it has been enlarged and rebuilt many times.

Insence burner at Asakusa Temple

Asakusa Temple with sake barrrels

5-tier Pagoda of Asakusa

We walked completely through the shrine complex to a parking lot where our bus was waiting. After some delay because of missing passengers, we finally headed north and into the Ginza, Tokyo's most famous shopping area. The bus dropped us off there. By luck, we were right in front of a restaurant featuring croissant sandwiches, so we had lunch there. Afterwards, we walked through some of the Ginza.

We came upon Hibiya Park, Tokyo's first western-style park, and decided to walk through it in the direction of the Tokyo Prince Hotel, where we were staying that night. (Tom had taken our suitcase there by taxi while we were on the bus tour.) It was a beautifully landscaped park with scattered ponds and fountains. We emerged on the opposite corner where we caught a taxi the rest of the way to the hotel, arriving about 2:40. Tom had arrived there well before that.

Darrell in Hibiya Park

Hibiya Park

Fountain in Hibiya Park

The Kabukiya

Kabuki performance

Interior of Kabukiya

The Tokyo Prince was a very nice hotel. But what made it different from other nice hotels we'd stayed in was that the bathroom had an elaborate bidet toilet seat with electronic controls. We were familiar with ordinary bidets from our time in Europe, but we'd never seen one in this form.