The strange hours I've been keeping have finally paid off. I generally slept in until about 7 am (though Hans was awake after 2 am) and then it was time to head out. It was a good thing we had a slightly late start because when we arrived at the Imperial Palace it wasn't quiet open. It's difficult to appreciate the scale of the place until you walk across the outer moat and through the newly-restored wall foundations.
The site of the old Edo Castle is an area that covers nearly half a square mile. Much of the remaining structures (most had already burned down over the years) were destroyed by firebombs during World War II. The newer Imperial Residence recently saw some activity since Emperor Akihito abdicated his throne this year to his son Naruhito. It was a big deal because no Japanese monarch had addicated since 1817. On Saturday, while Hans and I were checking out Shibuya, Emperor Naruhito addressed the public at the East Garden, former site of other castle structures. Today it was fairly empty and quiet. We walked past a few guardhouses that are the oldest structures on the grounds.
The masonry was really remarkable
The three guardhouses are the oldest remaining structures
Restored guard turret and long guardhouse
After crossing through some pretty paths and a wide open field we climbed the base of Tenshudai Donjon, the ruins of what was at one time the tallest recorded structure in Japan until a fire destroyed it in 1657. This was the main tower of Edo Castle.
Tenshudai Donjon
Unfortunately, we only had about an hour to explore the area because I had a dentist appointment in Roppongi later! Once we had taken care of my exploding tooth we enjoyed a stroll through Zojoji Temple and view Tokyo Tower from a less crowded distance.
Zojoji is a Buddhist temple with ties to the Edo-ruling Tokugawa clan. Six Tokugawa shoguns are buried in the mausoleum on the temple grounds. Tokyo Tower is a great big communications structure built to represent the Eiffel Tower. It is the second-tallest structure in Japan at 1,092 feet.
Tokyo Tower
Little guardian of children
Next we boarded a train that took us over Rainbow Bridge to the artificial entertainment island of Odaiba where it turned out there was a Hawaiian festival happening! At the shopping mall we cross through there were numerous stages with live hula dancers and a variety of food trucks selling Hawaiian food. Since it was getting a bit late and we hadn't had lunch I walked up to one of the food trucks and ordered whatever they were serving (we couldn't read the menu). It turned out to be a soft hamburger patty on top of some rice and smothered with brown gravy. Topped with a fried egg and served with a little bit of greens.
Next we got in line for the one ticketed activity I had booked in Tokyo: teamLab Borderless. Inside the Epson Building in Odaiba, this digital art museum is a collection of dark rooms that are illuminated by a combination of CGI and animated projections to create multi-sensory spaces that are filled with light and sound. Each room has a theme. Word about this place has obviously spread because even though they've been operating for less than a year and I had pre-paid tickets we had to wait over and hour to enter. In the end the lines are for the best because they control how many people are inside at one time. That's not to say it wasn't busy because there were certainly a lot of people blundering about in the dark.
I had a grand time but unfortnately all of the pounding sound effects gave Hans a headache. He did get excited when at one point we were following some projected frogs that were hopping on the ground. Hans "stepped" on one and it's little animated body exploded! There were other subtle effects like waterfalls on some of the support pillars that if you held your hand up you could temporarily block the "flow" of water. There was a room full of LED strips that was completely disorienting.
After we were done with the museum we walked a short ways to the impressive 65-foot tall unicorn gundam statue that actually transforms at certain parts of the day.
At this point we were both pretty beat and feeling overwhelmed from all of the crowds so after a quick stop back at our hostel we FINALLY made it back out for dinner. Just around the corner from where we were staying was a recommended ramen place and we had a super yummy (and cheap) dinner.
Tomorrow we are sadly leaving Tokyo but we are excited to ride a Shinkansen bullet train!
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