Tasmania to Tokyo – Tokyo – Day 67

Tasmania to Tokyo – Tokyo – Day 66 can be found here.

It feels strange sleeping in a bed that’s not moving.

That feeling has carried on, despite having disembarked. My wife looked at the metal hangers in our hotel room and thought, “Those are going to make a racket when we get underway.”

It brings to mind a story about Keith Richards when he gets home from tour – he tried to dial 9 from his own home to get an outside line, and left his luggage on the conveyor belt because he has someone to do that for him when on tour. Clearly we (and Keith) have some reacclimatizing to do.

But first – time to forage for breakfast.

We decided yesterday that US$40 per person for breakfast was ludicrous. and we’d see what we could acquire locally instead. The answer – not much. We did manage to track down some yoghurt, milk, and apples but no luck with cereal. The baked goods we find are… interesting (and not refridgerated which is mildly concerning):

We eventually settle on some sort of ham-and-cheese pastry, along with a bun and some kind of scone:

And – it’s fine, but still something of a greasefest.

Meanwhile, we’ve discovered that the hotel offers an a la carte menu. The yoghurt and berries cost 1,600 yen (USD$12), but that’s still a far cry better than USD$40. So that’s our plan for tomorrow.

Downstairs for 10 am to meet our guide Masaharu – who also guided @Fletcher during a prior stay in Tokyo.

Masaharu had previously suggested we consider taking two taxis to the Imperial gardens – regular taxis can hold 4 passengers maximum, and we’re a group of 5 – but we suggest using the Go app to page a premium van instead.

And it works! The premium van takes longer to arrive than a regular taxi – which makes sense, as there are fewer of them – but still much less hassle than trying to keep two cabs together.

Masaharu suggests we visit the east gate, which should be significantly less crowded than the other entrances – a prediction that is immediately proven correct as hordes of people stream across the Wadakuramon Gate bridge to the Imperial palace.

As for us – no line for getting our bags checked, and we are soon inside the Imperial gardens.

With the first hint of sakura season beckoning on the horizon

As we enter the gardens, we hear shouting. Masaharu notes that this is a group of retired policemen – now volunteering as Imperial guards – who are practicing kendo, a Japanese martial art descended from samurai swordsmanship. Another example of the benefits of a private guide – we could have passed this spot ourselves and had no idea what was happening.

We duck into a small museum, and Masaharu explains the current makeup of the Japanese Imperial Family – the current ruler is Emperor Naruhito, who ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1, 2019. His ascendency was unusual in that it required his father, Japan’s Emperor Akihito to renounce his throne – a rare but not unprecedented event in Japanese history.

Emperor Naruhito and his wife Empress Masako have a single daughter, Aiko – Princess Toshi, who currently works for the Red Cross. It remains an open question as to whether Princess Toshi will be considered an equal in the line of succession relative to any male relatives. Princess Toshi is currently excluded from the line of succession despite Japan previously having eight ruling emperesses.

We pass an outbuilding, which Masahura explains was one of the ninja outposts.

He explains the difference between ninjas – who functioned more as spies and assassins – and the traditional samurai. He also notes that the Edo period of Japan (1603 to 1868) was marked by an unprecedented 260 year period of peace. Seems all-but-impossible to imagine these days.

We soon come across our first sakura tree in full bloom:

It is quite the sight to behold – though I’m still not sure how to properly photograph it:

Ah, well – I’ll definitely get some practice today.

We carry on through the Ninomaru garden:

The plum blossoms are fading now, as they began to peak back in February.

Masaharu notes that there was a time when the plum blossoms were considered to be more lovely than the sakura blossoms.

There are some beautiful koi in these ponds:

We pass the Suwa no Chashitsu tea house, which was built in 1912 by Emperor Meiji in the western portion of the Imperial palace grounds and later moved to this location.

It was moved to its current location in 1968.

We continue our slow wander through the gardens. The chickadees are out in force today:

We climb Shiomi Hill, which has a beautiful view of an interior section of the moat:

And the sakura spotting begins in earnest:

We’re still early in the season, so the trees are not yet riotous, one atop another.

But that’s fine by me as I’ve discovered I prefer the closer shots:

We climb to the top of the Kinmeisui Well, with its commanding view of the gardens and downtown alike:

Then it’s time for more sakura spotting.

I am soon left behind by my family. Ah, well. I’ll catch up eventually.

I hadn’t realized when we booked this trip – but I really wanted to get the chance to photograph the sakura. It can be difficult to predict the season, especially as it has been getting earlier in recent years.

But we’ve lucked out – this is the only sunny day predicted for our entire time in Tokyo. Regardless, I feel like I’ve had the experience I wanted to have. It’s all gravy from here on.

A brief pause to the sakura spotting as an inquisitive corvid makes an appearance:

Then back to it once more:

Don’t get me wrong – I would love to get one of those fabulous shots of endless sakura with nary a person in sight – but that seems unlikely given how busy the gardens are today.

Still – I can’t complain:

One last glimpse of what’s yet to come:

And of the Well’s remarkable exterior:

And it’s time to depart the Imperial gardens for the Museum of Modern Art:

Masaharu wisely suggests we explore on our own. That’s definitely my preferred way of taking in galleries, particularly when they have detailed information about the artist and their process (in English) – which the Museum of Modern Art offers in spades.

Some pieces play tricks on the eyes. This painting is done solely with reds, greens and blues – despite the seeming appeance of oranges, purples and pinks:

Sakura season has left its mark here too. It’s interesting that many of the trees painted – like the ones we’ve seen today – are in early bloom:

Others take a more novel approach:

This piece was done by adding pigment to the back of the material and letting it soak through.

Some are so realistic that you’d swear they are photographs:

Rather than the oil painting it actually is.

Perhaps one of my favourite – an abstract of a bridge above a river:

While my wife prefers the haunting shadows of this charcoal sketch:

Some are surrealistic, like these pond flowers overtop a city skyline:

And others use the room itself to great effect:

Eventually it’s time to depart from the gallery and venture off in search of lunch.

We’d placed Masaharu in a tough position as far as restaurant requirements are concerned – we ask that he try to find something local, but also caters to a wide range of food preferences. So he takes us to the gallery of restaurants in the Palaceside Building.

We eventually choose a Japanese / Korean barbeque restaurant. Perhaps not the most authentic local restaurant, but a lot closer than many of our recent choices!

We order a huge range of foods, including some spicy chicken:

And some wagyu beef that’s looking a little underdone…

But – we have the technology:

Yes, there are French fries in the background. We are indeed a work in progress.

We ask Masaharu what his favourite area is to visit is in Tokyo, and he says he loves going to Asakusa – a ‘temple town’ within the city and one of its oldest neighbourhoods. Something for us to keep in mind next time…

Now we’re off to Ueno Park, which is one of the most popular spots for locals to view the sakura blossoms.

On the way, we spot a sign that tracks the noise from nearby construction:

Hmm. I think I have dishwashers louder than that…

And then – after some twisting and turning – we arrive at Ueno Park:

It is jammed. But there’s still plenty of spots from which to view the blossoms.

There’s a real festival atmosphere here, with people ordering food and beverages from the local food stalls. (Apparently there’s more than 50 – though we don’t try and count them all.) Visitors then find comfortable spots beneath the trees where they can lounge and relax. We make plans to return here later.

But first – the kids spot the Ueno Zoo. The sun is nearing the horizon, so we bid a very fond farewell at Masaharu. Fantastic tour, and highly recommended! Those looking to book with him can find him on ToursByLocals here.

The zoo is perhaps a hundred metres away at this point – but it’s a struggle to pull me away from my camera:

Inside the zoo we go – but thankfully, the tree spotting continues:

Interspersed with a bit of tiger spotting:

And gorilla watching:

Most of the enclosures are pretty good, but some are in need of refresh. The otter exhibit in particular is in rough shape. It’s a small area, and we notice there’s quite a bit of algae. Hopefully they make some changes here soon.

A brief break for more blossom spotting:

Then we cross the bridge to the other side of the zoo – where we spot the world’s grumpiest red panda:

I know it’s just the coloration of his eyebrows but seriously – look at this guy:

Though he does seem to quite enjoy climbing around the various ladders and bridges in his enclosure

Next door, a golden pheasant:

The colouring is impressive – though it does look as though he’s wearing a toupe

We enter the small mammal area, and spot a Pallas’s cat:

And a dwarf mongoose:

Then swing by the lemur exhibit to watch them gallop up and down their small bridges, bumbling into one another.

Each time I see a ring-tailed lemur, I’m reminded of the time a keeper at the Toronto Zoo explained they can’t do enrichment activities as lemurs just don’t have the brainpower – even moving their food can cause intense confusion and occasionally require the keeper to re-enter the enclosure and replace it in the expected position. (Though I’ve also heard they can solve complex problems – so maybe it’s just the lemurs at the Toronto Zoo?)

Meanwhile, the Ueno Zoo is on the verge of closing, so we walk back to where we first began – namely, near the food stalls: