Yesterday was the end of our first leg in Tokyo and plan to spend another two days there at the end of the trip.
We decided to visit the Imperial Palace Gardens / Park that is located in the city center as it is next to the main Tokyo train station and would allow us to easily head to Kyoto.
The day was beautiful and we had time to walk at a leisurely pace and was necessary from all the walking we did the day before. I am trying to avoid aggrivating an old sports injury... just kidding I actually managed to tear my groin muscle hiking in Austria nearly 11 years ago now. Fun stories from those days with Catesby (Super big bro, both literally and physically). This is a blog from his European tour of 2007 when we met up in Barcelona: http://igtgb.blogspot.jp/2007/09/parque-guell.html. I like to think back on those times when Catesby and I were in Barcelona and wonder what Aina was doing when we were there. Funny, as I definitely never thought I would be living in that city when I visited it. I wonder what other cities will hold the same thought in the future for us.
The park was not crowded at all surprisingly and we were able to sit and relax on the green for a while.
Tea house:
A view of the Imperial Bridge (not my image), a popular spot when visiting the Imperial Gardens.
Credit: https://japanthis.com/2013/05/13/nijubashi-tokyos-most-famous-bridge/
We then headed to the Tokyo Ramen Street for lunch and is an area beneath the station. This ramen was not nearly as good our first ramen we ate when we arrived in Tokyo (http://kikanbo.co.jp/). The ramen there in Kanda was soooo good. The succelent pork, damn we really set a high bar quickly.
In general the ramen joints we have gone to have all used vending machines to make your purchase. You first order from the machine to get your ticket and then get in line and wait to be seated once there is space for you and your party.
An example below showing an example of the machines and the possible confusion over what you have ordered.
Credit: https://seachangeokinawa.blogspot.jp/
After finishing up our ramen we headed upstairs to get our bags from the storage of the JR Line Service.
We purchased the JR (Japan Rail) passes online in advance for the trip and it has made life really easy, as we used it also for the main metro line of Tokyo too. The ability to store our luggage there was great as all the public lockers were taken. We then had an easy walk to the platform to catch our express train. The trains are super comfy with leg room that tall people dream of at night when traveling. The unfornate part of the trip to Kyoto was the two hour delay because of a power failure. Aina and I slept mostly and Montse did her thing, laughing at me when I would make a loud snort, awaking myself and followed by the sheepish peek about of all snorers, the most classic being that of Andrew Crone (The legend of Little Rock or GACD).
We arrived late in Kyoto and got ourselves situated, making plans for the coming days in Kyoto.
We decided to visit the Imperial Palace Gardens / Park that is located in the city center as it is next to the main Tokyo train station and would allow us to easily head to Kyoto.
The day was beautiful and we had time to walk at a leisurely pace and was necessary from all the walking we did the day before. I am trying to avoid aggrivating an old sports injury... just kidding I actually managed to tear my groin muscle hiking in Austria nearly 11 years ago now. Fun stories from those days with Catesby (Super big bro, both literally and physically). This is a blog from his European tour of 2007 when we met up in Barcelona: http://igtgb.blogspot.jp/2007/09/parque-guell.html. I like to think back on those times when Catesby and I were in Barcelona and wonder what Aina was doing when we were there. Funny, as I definitely never thought I would be living in that city when I visited it. I wonder what other cities will hold the same thought in the future for us.
The park was not crowded at all surprisingly and we were able to sit and relax on the green for a while.
Tea house:
A view of the Imperial Bridge (not my image), a popular spot when visiting the Imperial Gardens.
Credit: https://japanthis.com/2013/05/13/nijubashi-tokyos-most-famous-bridge/
We then headed to the Tokyo Ramen Street for lunch and is an area beneath the station. This ramen was not nearly as good our first ramen we ate when we arrived in Tokyo (http://kikanbo.co.jp/). The ramen there in Kanda was soooo good. The succelent pork, damn we really set a high bar quickly.
In general the ramen joints we have gone to have all used vending machines to make your purchase. You first order from the machine to get your ticket and then get in line and wait to be seated once there is space for you and your party.
An example below showing an example of the machines and the possible confusion over what you have ordered.
Credit: https://seachangeokinawa.blogspot.jp/
After finishing up our ramen we headed upstairs to get our bags from the storage of the JR Line Service.
We purchased the JR (Japan Rail) passes online in advance for the trip and it has made life really easy, as we used it also for the main metro line of Tokyo too. The ability to store our luggage there was great as all the public lockers were taken. We then had an easy walk to the platform to catch our express train. The trains are super comfy with leg room that tall people dream of at night when traveling. The unfornate part of the trip to Kyoto was the two hour delay because of a power failure. Aina and I slept mostly and Montse did her thing, laughing at me when I would make a loud snort, awaking myself and followed by the sheepish peek about of all snorers, the most classic being that of Andrew Crone (The legend of Little Rock or GACD).
We arrived late in Kyoto and got ourselves situated, making plans for the coming days in Kyoto.
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