Day 9: Tuesday, April 15th
I dropped my laundry off at the front desk of the AC Hotel Marriott before walking down the street to meet Luke and Ryan at the B Hotel. We grabbed a few fresh pancakes and then went outside were we met our tour guide, Roy, and our driver.
[Fancy van]
Our driver drove us to the Tsukiji Old Fish Market where Roy took us through the indoor wet market.
Technically the market opens at 3:00 AM so they can bring in the fish and get everything ready for the auction that starts at 5:20 AM. After the auction ends the fish is cut up and moved into the market or shipped to other locations around the island.
[Mouth watering fresh ahi]
The food in Japan is so fresh and very reasonably priced!
We then walked through the outdoor market. There were so many good smells and I was taking notes about where we should grab breakfast tomorrow morning!
Kiyoshi Kimura (aka the "Tuna King") is the president of Japan's most successful sushi chains and got a big publicity bump when he paid over 1.7 million US dollars for a 222 kg bluefin!
We walked past shops full of ice cream, fresh strawberries, vegetables, grilled crab, household items, dried fish, and knives while Roy told us about the history of the market and where we should go to get real Japanese knives and the best food!
After wandering through the market, we jumped back into our van and headed to the Imperial Palace East Gardens.
The Imperial Palace grounds are massive! Since the Imperial Family still lives there, there are large areas that are restricted.
[Whole map]
So, we spent our entire tour walking through the East Garden. This area was built during the Edo period (1603-1867) and was the home to the Edo Castle (burnt down). This would have been where the Shōgun lived and conducted business. The feudal lords would also come to stay at the castle so that the Shōgun could maintain a good relationship with them.
[Zoomed in view of the Garden]
We crossed over the moat and entered the Gardens through the Hirakawa-mon gate. The Imperial Palace grounds are surrounded by a series of moats, gates, and walls. The gates are situated so that if an invading army comes in they would be trapped between two gates at a 90 degree angle. This would allow archers to take them out easily.
The walls were made of granite stones that were arranged meticulously using a dry ashlar technique (similar to the architecture built by the Inca in Peru).
We then walked through the Ninomaru and Iris Garden where we saw a teahouse, ponds full of koi fish, and beautiful flowers.
[Suwa no Chaya Teahouse - Build in 1912 and moved to this location in 1968]
We then walked over to see the foundation of the main keep/tower.
We then walked over to the Honmaru Resthouse where we saw a model of the castle tower.
[Fujimi Yagura Turret]
[Toka-gakudo Concert Hall]
[Ote-mon gate]
We finished our tour of the East Garden and exited through the Ote-mon gate where our driver picked us up.
