Imperial Palace Gardens, Ginza shopping district

The sunny, clear skies were perfect today for touring a garden. We went to East Garden, a 52 acre garden located next to the Imperial Palace. Once a castle during the Edo period, the East Garden is enclosed (originally for protection) by a huge stone wall with two moats. Surprisingly, for both its beauty and its free admission, the garden was quiet with few tourists or locals. (the park does have entrance hours from 9-5pm though). Our favorite part was the Ninomaru section of the garden with a pond, waterfall, stepping stones, and winding paths.

From there we went to Ginza, one of Tokyo's most famous shopping districts for high-end international designer brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Armani, Rolex, etc. Everything is done at the biggest level with each store having multiple levels (at least 10 floors) and restaurants and cafes. We peeped into Mikimoto and admired the beautiful pearls and diamonds...even picked out some dream pairs of earrings. :) Since it was Sunday, several of the main streets were closed in the Ginza area, so many pedestrians were out- great people watching spot! We saw the most fashionable Tokyites strolling here- the men are just as into shopping as women!

Tomorrow is class, which we're looking forward to. We've had a very full weekend and are ready to learn more Japanese. We have different teachers throughout the week, and it depends on the teacher on how good the class goes... just like every school, there are some good teachers and some not-so-good ones. The textbook we're using is excellent as well- Genki, a comprehesive Japanese language textbook series written by American and Japanese professors and intended for English-speakers. Overall, we're happy with the program and are progressing. Being around the language all day, we are starting to pick up bits of what the Japanese are saying. (Yea!)

 

East Garden- former Imperial Palace grounds

 In front of the East Garden Gate,

on the moat bridge

 



Hi there! Japanese style garden

Stepping stones, winding paths

 Inner Citadine

 

Ginza Shopping District



Famous shops on a huge dimension

 

Seiko clock- start of Ginza shopping