Tokyo - final days

Yesterday was our last full day here and after our big shopping day in the Ginza area we decided on a much easier and quieter day. After a lazy morning in the hotel room, blogging and relaxing, we headed to Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens. They are in a more suburban area of Tokyo (by their standards not ours)but are right next to Tokyo Dome and also there was an amusement park there too. We had some lunch while watching a band play in a communal eating area. We tried Octopus Balls which we had seen and been told were very popular but hadn`t tried previously. Mark in particular liked them. They are a type of savoury pancake batter with a piece of octopus inside as well as spring onions and finely chopped capsicum. Then cooked into a ball shape about the size of an egg in these special trays.

one of the walkkways in the garden next to one of the lakes that had very large Koi/ cat fish in them. The stones both small and large are set in concrete so are stable to walk on.

Engetsu-kyo (Full Moon Bridge) the reflection of the bridge in the pond produces a full circle with the appearance of the full moon. Apparently it was designed by a Confucian scholar. While many bridges and small shrine type buildings in the park were damaged by bombing during the war this bridge is the original.

One of the many paths through the `stroll garden` with the red Tsutenkyo bridge in the background.

Some parts of the garden were apparently designed to reflect particular geographical areas of Japan. One area was the Kiso river. We were thrilled we could recognise it from our previous trip to Japan when we walked part of the Kiso valley along the river and mountains. They had done a great job.

Time for us to check out from the hotel now. We will store our luggage at reception and collect it around 3pm to head to the airport. That`s another holiday over folks! See you next time to share our future travels with us.

Thanks for your comments and support.

xD&M