(This is the third entry in my blog on my trip to Tokyo. “Part 0” can be found here.)
Day 2, our first full day, was all about getting our bearings and exploring Tokyo. We woke up with a taste for Ramen, and found a place Ichiran nearby our hotel. You use this vending machine to place your order, and then you hand these tickets to the staff.
Then, you are seated in an individual stall, and a eventually a hand opens up a small curtain and plops this down:
Sooo delicious! We will definitely be going back for more!
After lunch, we hopped on the JR train to downtown Tokyo to see what was going on down there. Surprisingly, it was very quiet! Downtown Toyko, is more of a business district, and less of a destination. The city is broken into a bunch of wards and they all feature something a little different.
While downtown, we decided to check out the Imperial Palace. Walking through the giant gates really sent me back in time, and helped me picture this place during the Edo period.
Now, the Imperial Palace itself is mostly closed to the public, because it’s the actual primary residence of the current Emperor of Japan. So, we were visiting what’s called the East Garden. The East Garden features old Samurai living quarters and beautiful pieces of landscape.
My favorite part was this Zen Garden:
I even got a selfie with one of the Imperial Koi and a shot of some of the famous Cherry Blossoms!
After the Imperial Palace, we headed over to Shibuya, a famous shopping district, and home to the “pedestrian scramble”.
Then we did a little bit of food tourism:
I guess it goes without saying, but the sushi here is the best I’ve ever had by far. You can walk into any sushi restaurant, and get the best sushi of your life, and pay about $1 per piece of Nigiri. Incredible.
And then some donuts before bed:
Goodnight, Tokyo!
