Life at the Leingangs': Japan 2023

I was so glad we had such a late flight out for our last day. It meant we got to spend more time with Andy before we left and had time to really pack up our suitcases to leave at the hotel after checking out.

Grabbed a few shots of the view from our balcony...

These are just random pics I took in the morning...

It also gave us time to do one of the things I knew Chris really wanted to do, sort of. He really wanted to tour the Imperial Palace. Unfortunately there was only time to visit the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace...

I'm so glad it wasn't closed due to one of the following reasons:

- Every Monday and Friday (open on National Holiday except the Emperor's Birthday)

-in the event that a National Holiday fall on a Monday, the Garden will be closed on the Tuesday immediately following the National Holiday.

-from December 28 to January 3

-in circumstances where it is deemed necessary to close the Garden due to Imperial Court functions and other occasions

#1 (on map) Ote-mon Gate: This was the main gate to Edo Castle, the site of the former residential palace of the successive Tokugawa Shoguns of the Edo Period, and dates to 1659...

this protective talisman was carved in 1657

#4 Donshin-bansho: This guardhouse is one of three surviving from the Tokugawa Shogunate ((1603-1867) and was manned by low ranking samurai who checked visitors to the castle and waited for the masters' return from inside the complex...

the lighter stones in the wall were put there during the 2005-2007 restoration

#5 Hyaku-nin-bansho: This largest Edo Period guardhouse was set between San no Mon and Naka no Mon gates to guard the main compound of Edo Castle. It was manned in four shifts of 100 low-ranking and 20 higher-ranking samurai...

#14 Tea Garden...

#24 Honmaru Rest House: This also included a scale model of the main tower and a small gift shop. This is a model of the tallest tenshu (or castle keep) built in 1638, measuring over 262 feet including the stone base or honmaru. This third keep only lasted 20 years before it was destroyed in the Great Fire of Meireki that ravaged the city of Edo.

#20 Tenshu-dai: Now only the base of the keep remains...

#23 Site of the O-oku: this is where the women associated with the ruling shogun lived on the palace grounds...

#22 Toka-gakudo: this concert hall was built in 1966 for the 60th birthday of Empress Kojun who loved classical music. The colorful tile roof is in the shape of a flower...

#19 Bamboo Garden

#17 Ishi-muro: No one knows what this stone cellar was used for

#13 Matsu-no-o-roka: this corridor used to be lined with paintings of pine trees

#15 Fujimi-tamon: this picture of the moat was taken from the defense house

#12 Lawn: this large lawn was used for public ceremonies and where various government officials did their work...

#8 Fujimi-yagura: this Mt Fuji view keep reconstructed in 1659 used to have a view of the famous mountain. It is now blocked by large skyscrapers...

#26 Shiomi-zaka: the stonewall construction was hampered by the 1657 fire the the area between the Bairinzaka and Shiomizaka Slopes was restored between 2002-2005...

#33 Symbolic Prefecture Trees...

#34 Suwa-no-cha-ya: this teahouse was built by Emperor Meiji in 1912 and moved to this site in the East Gardens in 1968...

#35 Ninomaru Garden: this garden is based on a 18th century garden map...

#3 Ote Rest House: We passed by this on our way back to the Ote-mon (entrance gate)...

We were too hungry to wait to get back to our hotel so Andy took us to a fast food fried chicken place for lunch. I wish I had taken more pictures despite the stares from the other diners. We all sat at our own little cubby at the counter and ordered from the digital display. Then the food was delivered to you so quickly. The food was so hot and delicious I ordered some fried chicken, too...

We picked up our stuff we bought and left at Andy's apartment, said our goodbyes, went back to pick up our bags at the hotel and left way too early for the airport to avoid crowded rush hour trains to the airport. But we did use the extra time to do a bit of duty-free and vending machine shopping and to get some dinner while we waited. It was actually a kind of fun and low key way to end our time in Tokyo...