Eleven-Hour Tokyo Tour

Yes, you read that correctly.  The tour was excellent and covered much of the best of Tokyo.  We hopped on the bus and our first stop was the Imperial Garden.  We entered the Holy Gates to get into the Meiji Jingu Shinto Shrine.  170,000 trees were planted to create a man-made forest.  

The forest is kept clean by hand raking.

This Holy Gate was the first of many that got smaller and smaller.

This path is lined with casks for sake and Franch wine.

This were one of many bridal couples we saw throughout the day.

 Our next stop was the Nijubashi Bridge near the Imperial Palace.  It the formal entrance is for heads of states, royalty and other high dignitaries.    

Near the bridge is a statue of a famous samarai.

Next we toured the Asakusa Temple.  The incense acts as an offering to the gods to keep evil spirits away.

To purify yourself, first you rinse your left hand, then the right and then the left again.  Next you rinse your mouth.  Repeat with the hands to then be able to make a request from the gods.

Geisha abound.

These are offering pots.

 

 

 The steps lead up to the temple.

After lunch we toured the Skytree.  It is 634 meters in height while the Tokyo Tower is only 336 meters.  We took the elevator up 350 meters to circle the view from the deck.

 
We ended our day with a cruise on Tokyo Bay.  While the cruise was brief the view was breathtaking

 

While Tokyo has a vast array of delicious and high-end Asian and other ethnic restaurants, we have found wandering down narrow alleyways to be a real treat.  The ways are busy and noisy.  We have chosen places for lunch and dinner based on occupancy (we don't go into empty or low occupancy places).  So far we have found delicious small meals at very low prices and have enjoyed the company of mainly local diners.