Thursday, 17 October. We had the big breakfast buffet that came with the room. Then Jane and I walked to the Tokyo Tower (1958), right behind the hotel. This is a replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, except that it's about 40 feet taller. We took the elevator first to the main observation deck (almost 500 feet), then to the special observation deck (825 feet). There wasn't much difference in the view, perhaps because a light haze limited visibility. We could see no sign of Mt. Fuji, said to be visible from the tower on a clear day.

Tokyo Harbor from Tower

Tokyo Tower

Jane at Tokyo Harbor

Zojoji Temple "Baby" dolls at Zojoji Temple

When we left the tower, Jane went directly to the hotel, but I walked down a small street, looking (unsuccessfully) for a full length view of the Tower. I came upon the Zojoji Temple across the street from the side of the hotel. Just inside the temple's fence were rows of small, doll-like statues, many wearing baby caps, ribbons or other decorations, and holding pinwheels that spun in the breeze. I read later that these dolls were provided for mothers who had lost their babies, so they could take care of the dolls in lieu of the lost babies.

Two types of bullet train

When I got back to the hotel, we packed up, checked out, and took a taxi to Tokyo Station where we caught the 1:03 bullet train. This engine of this train was different than the one that brought us to Tokyo, less bullet-like. We were in Kyoto before 4:00 and at Tom's about a half hour later.