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sakura

Japan: Cherry blossoms at Tokyo Imperial Palace east garden

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Apr 16, 2016
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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

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 blossom celebrations by Sumida River

By Mithun Divakaran
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Mar 29, 2016
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Japan, Travel

Date: 28th March 2015

After checking out Denboin Garden near Sensoji temple, I walked towards Sumida River next.

Skytree gold building Asahi Sumida — I was here to check out the sakura festivities on either side of the Sumida River

Tokyo Cruise building Sumida river — Plenty of boat tours from this station

Tokyo cruise map Sumida river — Here’s a map of the waterway service

Sumida river tour boat Tokyo — I would take one of these boats later

Sumida river two sides panorama — A wide panorama of both banks

Tokyo sky tree panorama Japan — The Tokyo Skytree, shot using my 70-200 mm lens

Asahi beer hall golden building Tokyo — I decided to check out this side of the river bank first

Continue reading “Japan: Cherry blossom celebrations by Sumida River” »

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

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Feb 09, 2016
/
Japan, Travel

Date: 26th March 2015

After spending days outside Tokyo — mostly Kyoto and Himeji — I was back in Japan’s impressive capital city. I was staying in the Asakusa area, popular for being close to many of Tokyo’s attraction — namely Nakamise Street, Sensoji shrine, Asakusa shrine and Sumida River. It’s why I chose to stay in Asakusa and booked myself at the Khaosan Tokyo Laboratory hostel for a few days.

Toshiba Japanese toilet buttons — Toshiba toilets, who would have thought 🙂 It was nice to sit on these on a chilly morning — because the toilet seat would warm up!

Khaosan Tokyo hostel kitchen terrace — I went upstairs to the kitchen to have my breakfast

Khaosan Tokyo hostel kitchen utilities — The kitchen isn’t very big but I didn’t find it very crowded either. It has all the essential appliances.

Khaosan Tokyo Laboratory hostel Japan — I got ready and went downstairs to check out the information the hostel had put up about attractions in Tokyo and how to get to each one.

Asakusa district Tokyo Japan — First attraction on today’s sightseeing list was Senso-ji temple, so I headed out in that direction

Mos Burger Asakusa outlet Tokyo Japan — Good thing there was a Mos Burger outlet nearby 🙂

I walked towards the end of the road Senso-ji was situated on just to explore the surroundings. There are quite a few banks around, so I got some US dollars exchanged.