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Japan October 2004

Japan October 2004 Day 11: More Tokyo Exploring

We lounged around a bit this morning before heading off to Tokyo Tower. We had been by the tower before, but never up to the top so we decided to change that today. We had to take the JR line to Hamamatsuchō Station and then walk from there to the base of the Tower. All in all after our navigation of Himeji and Kyoto, this felt like an easy trip today. We went up to the top for some photos and even got some with the transparent floor where you could look straight down and the ground.

Looking up at Tokyo Tower
Josh and the Gorn up at the top of Tokyo Tower with Rainbow Bridge in the background
From Tokyo Tower looking at Daiba, Rainbow Bridge and our old friend the Fuji TV Headquarters
From Tokyo Tower looking at Shinjuku

With our fill of photos complete, we headed back down and after a quick look at souvenirs, we headed for our second major tourist attraction for the day – the Imperial Palace. We haded back to the JR Yamanote line and went back to Tokyo Station.

The exterior of Tokyo Station

From there, it was a quick walk to the Imperial Palace. What struck me the most about it was just how much grass and open space there was in the middle of such a large city like Tokyo. We spent about two hours wandering the grounds and seeing the gardens and buildings before walking back to Tokyo Station. 

The outside of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
Tōkagakudō – The Peach Blossom Music Hall
Serene Ninomaru Garden at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo

We then decided to head to Ikspiari to do some shopping for Disney items. I really wanted to make sure I got the Tokyo DisneySea soundtrack for “Style” so we went to the Disney Store where we had luck back in March, but could not find the soundtrack there. I was a bit disappointed, but we did find another music shop in the mall. Fortunately, they were well stocked with CDs so I was able to get that and another one as well. 

We still had some time to kill tonight, so we headed back to the hotel to drop off our purchases. Daniel wanted to film a movie of Tokyo at night, so we headed back out into the city to get some video shots of various places including Kanda Station, Shibuya Crossing, and finally where we had started the day, Tokyo Tower. 

Looking up at Tokyo Tower at night
You can never have enough photos of Tokyo Tower

Our time in Tokyo is winding down yet again. Tomorrow we pack up and have to check out of the hotel, but we will have the opportunity to do some last minute swings through our favorite shops before heading to the airport.