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Photos and stories from many of my travels in the past 5 years

Japan: Harajuku on a Sunday – Meiji shrine and Yoyogi Park

By Mithun Divakaran
/
May 12, 2016
/
Japan, Travel

Date: 29th March 2015

My morning was spent sighting cherry blossoms aplenty — first at the East Gardens of the Tokyo Imperial Palace followed by a visit to the impressive Shunjuku Gyoen. From Shinjuku Gyoemmae station, I had to get to Harajuku station now.

Harajuku station Takeshita street — I could see the famous Takeshita street from the Harajuku station platform

Omotesando train station crowd Japan — I don’t know if it was because it was a Sunday or not, but it took a while to get out of the station. There was a whole swarm of people going in either direction.

Meiji shrine entrance Japan — First up, a quick visit to Meiji Shrine

Wine barrels Meiji shrine Japan — Along the way were these displays of wine barrels on one side

Sake barrels Meiji shrine Japan — … and barrels of sake on the other side. These barrels of sake and wine (from France) were all gifts to the emperor of the Meiji era

Old sake barrels Meiji shrine Tokyo — I’m sure they’re empty now, but they do make for an impressive display

Meiji shrine torii Japan — It’s nearly a kilometer before you get to Meiji Shrine

Continue reading “Japan: Harajuku on a Sunday – Meiji shrine and Yoyogi Park” »

Japan: Cherry blossom sightings at Shinjuku Gyoen

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Apr 27, 2016
/
Japan, Travel

Date: 29th March 2015

After a quick visit to the Tokyo Imperial Palace east garden, I was now going to visit Shinjuku Gyoen (gyoen = garden), which is one of the best venues in Tokyo to view cherry blossoms. I took the train to Shinjuku-gyoemmae station, took exit 2 and made my way to the Okido entrance — of many entrances to the garden.

Shinjuku Gyoen neighbourhood Tokyo Japan — The neighbourhood I was in was quite nice

Shinjuku Gyoen entrance Tokyo Japan — There was an entry fee of ¥200 (₹119/$1.8/€1.5)

Shinjuku gyoen glasshouse Tokyo Japan — There’s a glasshouse here. I would check it out later.

Shinjuku Gyoen hanami season Tokyo Japan — Shinjuku Gyoen is the largest public garden in Tokyo city

Large pink sakura tree Tokyo Japan — The reason why Shinjuku Gyoen is very popular for cherry blossoms is quite evident early on

Pink sakura tree Shinjuku Gyoen Tokyo — The selfie sticks were out in full force today

Shinjuku Gyoen in hanami Tokyo Japan — It was beautiful just walking around here

Child picking cherry blossom petals Japan — Kids all over the place were seen picking up petals

Pink sakura flower Hanami season Tokyo — Shades of pink were a more common sight

Picnic at Shinjuku Gyoen panorama — A panorama of the large ground here where many had set up picnic mats and were enjoying drinks and snacks

Large sakura tree Shinjuku Gyoen — It’s a beautiful setting to have a picnic anyway

Varieties of sakura cherry blossoms — Apparently there were more varieties of cherry blossoms besides my knowledge of “pink sakura” and “white sakura”

Glasshouse Shinjuku Gyoen Tokyo Japan — I decided to quickly check out the glasshouse

Inside glasshouse Shinjuku Gyoen Tokyo — There is no separate entry fee for the glasshouse

Flowers glasshouse Tokyo Japan — The glasshouse was filled with a few exotic flowers

Echinocactus Shinjuku Gyoen glasshouse — And some plants which otherwise would not grow in Japan’s climate

Glasshouse interiors Shinjuku Japan — The glasshouse isn’t very big

Walkway glasshouse Shinjuku Tokyo — So I made my way back out

Greenhouses Shinjuku Gyoen Tokyo — There were more greenhouses outside but off-limits to visitors

Portable toilets Shinjuku Gyoen Tokyo — Colour-coordinated portable toilets. Or ‘sexist’ toilets according to some.

Sakura trees Shinjuku Gyoen Tokyo — Back to all the beautiful sakura all around

Picnic around sakura tree Shinjuku Gyoen — This sakura tree was very popular for photos, because it was quite low

Mithun white sakura tree Tokyo — I only had a brief few seconds to get a photo taken without anybody else in the frame

Sakura tree Shinjuku Gyoen crowds — You’d think I would have taken enough photos of the sakura by now

Kid bridge sakura tree Japan — But wherever I walked, there was some frame or sight that just had to be captured on camera

Photographers Shinjuku Gyoen hanami season — Amateur and professional photographers were out in full force

Man painting shinjuku Gyoen Tokyo — It’s not just photographers who were making the most of the beauty all around

Shinjuku garden lake Tokyo Japan — I could just sit here all day and take in the views… if only it wasn’t cold and all grey

Sakura flower trees Hanami Shinjuku — A little sunlight would have made the colours pop a bit more

Large cherry blossom tree Shinjuku garden — I walked around a bit more

Cherry blossoms in hanami season Japan — I imagined what it would be like, to be a bird or a butterfly, and see the cherry blossoms in a different light

Small bird cherry blossom tree Japan — Enjoy sights of spring little birdie!

Cherry blossom tree Shinjuku garden Tokyo — Many of these trees are decades old

Big sakura Shinjuku garden during Hanami — You don’t get much time, the full sakura bloom only lasts about a week or two

Kimono girl posing sakura Japan — So everybody makes the most of it and get their special photos taken

Mirror lake reflection Shinjuku garden — It was time to head back out to the concrete jungle

Dead trees Shinjuku Gyoen Tokyo — What are these trees?

Line of trees Shinjuku garden Tokyo — There was an entire row of them

Lawn Shinjuku garden Tokyo Japan — I headed back

Shinjuku Gyoen Tokyo garden lake — Even on the way out I couldn’t help but take some more photos

Pink sakura reflection Shinjuku Gyoen bridge — Seriously — sakura sighting in Japan is like no other

Shinjuku Gyoen is undoubtedly one of the best places to come and soak in a rich cheer blossom sighting. I’m glad I got to experience it at full bloom, even if the sun was shy today. Paying 200 yen is well worth the price of admission. Ueno Park, where I returned to the next day, is also amazing so look forward to that post.

Okido gate Shinjuku Gyoen Tokyo — I went out the same gate

Shinjuku Gyoemmae road Tokyo — Fairly residential area

Comodo kitchen Shinjuku street Tokyo — It was well past lunchtime and I wondered where to eat

Curry naan restaurant Tokyo — There was this corner store called Curry-Naan. I didn’t plan on having Indian food but the thought of having hot, familiar taste in this cold weather tempted me to go inside.

Inside curry naan restaurant Shinjuku — The place was really small. Three tables and the rest were counter seats, where I sat down. One of the tables was occupied by a group of Malayalis. What are the odds!

Curry naan plate Shinjuku eatery — A single naan with a little chicken kheema curry and lassi for dessert cost ¥730 (₹435/$6.5/€5.8)

All said and done, my tummy felt satisfied and I waited for the drizzle to subside before I walked to the subway station. Next stop: Harajuku. Part two of four posts on this one day is complete!

Next post(s) in this series:

Japan 2015: Harajuku on a Sunday – Meiji shrine and Yoyogi Park

Japan 2015: Harajuku at night — Takeshita Street

Japan 2015: Visiting Akihabara a second time, because why not?

Japan 2015: Cherry blossoms in full bloom at Ueno Park

Japan 2015: Rikugien garden’s weeping cherry blossom tree

Japan 2015: Getting to Hakone; Lake Ashi sightseeing cruise

Japan 2015: Hakone ropeway; onsen at Hotel Green Plaza

Japan 2015: Ōwakudani sulphur springs, views of Mt. Fuji — and last night in Tokyo

Japan 2015: Getting to Narita Airport — and flying an Airbus A380 for the first time

Previous posts in this series:

Japan 2015: Cherry blossoms at Tokyo Imperial Palace east garden

Japan 2015: Boat ride to Odaiba; giant Gundam statue at DiverCity Mall

Japan 2015: Cherry blossom celebrations by Sumida River

Japan 2015: Denboin garden, near Sensoji Temple

Japan 2015: Shopping in Shinjuku, and exploring Kabukicho

Japan 2015: Nishi-Shinjuku — views from Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building sky deck

Japan 2015: Shibuya – the busiest crossing in the world, and home to a loyal dog

Japan 2015: Ueno Zoo – pandas, a lonely polar bear, and more

Japan 2015: Nakamise street, Senso-ji temple, and Ueno Park sakura at half-bloom

Japan 2015: Nadagiku Shuzo Sake Brewery, leaving Himeji for Tokyo — and my last bullet train ride

Japan 2015: Himeji Castle, and the unexpected air show

Japan 2015: Kyoto Station, and arriving at Himeji by shinkansen

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Monkey Park in Arashiyama

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Bamboo Forest in Arashiyama

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Gion Corner Cultural Show

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Kinkaku-ji and Kiyomizu Dera temple

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Fushimi Inari-taisha, and climbing to the mountain top

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Nishiki market and Teramachi

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Nishi & Higashi Honganji, Shijo street, and Gion

Japan 2015: Riding a bullet train for the first time, Tokyo to Kyoto

Japan 2015: Walking around Akihabara and Ginza

Japan 2015: Going to Akihabara, and spending way too much time in Yodobashi Akiba

Japan 2015: Landing in Tokyo… and using a communal bath for the first time

Japan: Cherry blossoms at Tokyo Imperial Palace east garden

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Apr 16, 2016
/
Japan, Travel

Date: 29th March 2015

Yesterday was a long but fruitful day of sightseeing that began at Denboin garden, a stroll by the banks of Sumida river before going to Odaiba to see a giant Gundam robot. Today was going to be just as packed a day. First off, more cherry blossom sightings.

I took the train Asakusa to Otemachi station. Took exit C13b and headed to the Tokyo Imperial Palace East garden. I could not do a tour of the Imperial Palace because that has to be booked in advance, so I just came to see the gardens.

Palace hotel Tokyo Japan — It was a gloomy day, which is never good for photographing anything colourful

Road closed for cycling Tokyo Japan — This was nice. They closed the road for traffic and only opened it for cyclists. Must a regular Sunday affair in these parts.

Sakura tree lake Imperial Palace Tokyo — The sakura trees were in bloom even outside the palace grounds

Tokyo Imperial palace gate Japan — There was no entry fee

Tokyo Imperial Palace stonewalls Japan — The Imperial Palace has these ancient stonewalls made of large blocks of solid stone

Inside Tokyo Imperial palace grounds — It was a bit of a walk to get the East Gardens

Tokyo Imperial gardens panorama Japan — There are other gardens in the castle complex, but the East Garden is the only one open to the public throughout the year

Grass Tokyo Imperial garden panorama — I really wished it was sunnier

Tokyo Imperial garden panorama Japan — It’s a vast area but not choc full of different varieties of plants and trees

Pink sakura flower tree Imperial Garden — The cherry blossom flowers seem to mostly be in shades of pink…

White sakura tree Imperial garden Tokyo — Or white

White sakura tree Tokyo Imperial garden-tokyo — Took this shot on my Sony Xperia Z1 phone

White sakura cloudy sky Tokyo — Sadly today, even the skies were white. See if you can spot the sun.

Stone observation point Imperial garden — I walked up that observation point

Tokyo view imperial palace east garden — Beyond these ancient walls lies modern Tokyo

Tokyo Imperial east garden lawn Japan — I didn’t linger for long. I had to get to Shinjuku Gyoen after this, which is one of the best venues for sakura sightseeing

Sakura tree petals fallen down — Petals were falling down, so I wonder how long a full bloom lasts

White sakura tree Imperial Garden Japan — There were more cherry blossom trees on the way out

The entire Imperial Palace complex is like an island surrounded by a stream of water

Tokyo roads from pedestrian walkway — I walked around Otemachi

Otemachi buildings Tokyo Japan — Otemachi is a major office district and where many of Japan’s top newspaper publishers are based

Pink cherry blossom tree Tokyo streets — I headed back to Otemachi station

From Otemachi station, it’s easy to get to Shinjuku Gyoen without transferring between stations. Shinjukugyoen-Mae station is the closest to the garden (fare was ¥200) and it’s on the Marunouchi Line. All the beautiful sakura sightings at Shinjuku Gyoen will be in a separate post — and trust me — it’s a really good one!

Next posts in this series:

Japan 2015: Cherry blossom sightings at Shinjuku Gyoen

Japan 2015: Harajuku on a Sunday – Meiji shrine and Yoyogi Park

Japan 2015: Harajuku at night — Takeshita Street

Japan 2015 Visiting Akihabara a second time, because why not?

Japan 2015: Cherry blossoms in full bloom at Ueno Park

Japan 2015: Rikugien garden’s weeping cherry blossom tree

Japan 2015: Getting to Hakone; Lake Ashi sightseeing cruise

Japan 2015: Hakone ropeway; onsen at Hotel Green Plaza

Japan 2015: Ōwakudani sulphur springs, views of Mt. Fuji — and last night in Tokyo

Japan 2015: Getting to Narita Airport — and flying an Airbus A380 for the first time

Previous posts in this series:

Japan 2015: Boat ride to Odaiba; giant Gundam statue at DiverCity Mall