Mom's Visit-Day 7

On day 7, my mother and I stayed in Kyoto and went to the Imperial Palace. You have to apply for a tour to enter the palace, which is a bit of a shame because the pace of the tour was quite slow. The grounds around the palace are really nice though. There are a few bridges, and the colors of the flowers and bushes in spring made the scenery beautiful. In the afternoon, we decided to visit Nijo Castle. I had been here once before, so we did a pretty quick run of the place and then headed to Osaka to spend the night.

my mom at the Imperial Palace

Mom's Visit-Day One

This is going to be the first post concerning my mom’s trip to Japan, so I guess I will start with her arrival. My mother left St. Louis on May 22 and arrived the next day in Narita. She traveled by herself to our hotel, and surprisingly didn't manage to get lost. We spent the night in Shinjuku. I think the first culture shock she experienced was separating ice, paper, and plastics at McDonalds rather than just throwing it all in one trash can. That Saturday, we made our way to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. I was really surprised at how massive the grounds were. I think you would have to walk for an hour just to walk around the entire grounds. After this, we made our way to the Yasakuni Shrine. There was a street market leading up to the shrine. After this, we went to Koishikawa Korakuen Garden. The garden is really surprising because it seems like a random garden put in the middle of Tokyo surrounded by loads of buildings. I think it is a nice escapism from the city as many people go there to paint the scenery.

Wadakura Fountain Park near Tokyo Imperial Palace

Wadakura Fountain Park near Tokyo Imperial Palace

View from grounds of Tokyo Imperial Palace

Tokyo Imperial Palace

Near Yasakuni Shrine

Koishikawa Korakuen Garden

Koishikawa Korakuen Garden