Jessica Wandering

Photos and thoughts on my travels

Imperial palace gardens/Ueno Park/Koishikawa Korakua Garden.

Neither of us felt great this day
Samurai guard hall. Form the 1600’s
Lotus shaped concert hall built in the 1960’s for the emporers consort
Moat and guard wall. Imagine living in the 16th or 17th century and trying to attack the palace!

We couldn’t see the palace grounds themselves because you need a reservation.

We saw the central train station which was pretty cool. But it is very modernized inside, no grand rooms with tall ceilings we could find.
We’ve been pretty impressed with ourselves navigating the subways. It’s a lot and seems what the normal people do. There are also trains, but the pass was 5x more expensive per day. There are so many actual human workers to help you and to keep them SOooooo clean!
The next day we felt better and went to cool neighborhoods
The number of shrines and temples here is just astounding. I love the happy Buddha with the crane and buildings behind him.
It’s like that. You are in this modern city and you just come upon these very beautiful and old buildings and sacred items.
Have I mentioned how amazing Google Translate is? Zarah called it “the ultimate enabler” and it’s true. This is a screenshot of the overwriting of the Japanese characters on the sign describing this monument.
Ueno Park
A totem pole?!
Burning bamboo and rope and other revolving accoutrements of a shrine
And swan paddle boats for summer. It is quite a park.
Very cute food truck where we got veggie curry. Japanese curry is so good.
Then a giant roller coaster by the baseball stadium
I’m really sad it wasn’t running.
Then Koishikawa Korakuen Garden. See the baseball dome in the background, but this park was originally the grounds of a lords estate in the 1600’s and it has been preserved as a serene and gorgeous oasis in the city.
This was one of the first places we went that wasn’t totally flat. The hills made it more cozy and protected feeling
There were 6-8 perfectly placed stepping stones across the creek. Not one of them wiggled even a bit as you stepped.

I also like how we accidentally caught our shadows on the leaves.

It is so perfectly sculpted and maintained
This tree is related to trees in another state (prefecture) that the lord brought there.
Everything just so.
The island is shaped as a turtle with trees going on its back
These pictures aren’t doing it justice. It is one of the best parks I’ve ever had been to.

A great last day in Tokyo

jessicaeastre

One response to “Imperial palace gardens/Ueno Park/Koishikawa Korakua Garden.”

  1. jenniferlblackburn Avatar
    jenniferlblackburn

    I’m glad you’re both feeling better — not fun to be sick while in a foreign environment. The ‘60s lotus concert hall is funny. I’m amazed you guys have been able to navigate the subway system! The google photo translation feature seems like a travel game changer. I had no idea! The totem pole is very unexpected. And isn’t Japanese curry amazing?? Best curry I’ve had.

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