Tokyo by rail...afternoon - Hama-rikyu Gardens, Imperial Palace

As we headed toward the subway station we saw a sign for a garden, so headed the opposite directions as it was only a short distance away. The Hama-rikyu Gardens were first begun in the 1650's when the younger brother of the 4th Tokugawa Shogun had part of the shallows filled and a residence built. The garden was finally completed at the time of the 11th Shogun and remained basically the same to present time. During WWII there was much damage to the buildings and trees that have been repaired. In Nov. 1945 the Imperial Family donated the garden to the City of Tokyo and opened to the public in April 1946. It is now designated a famous site. It's a lovely treed area of tidal ponds with many bridges, some buildings and beautiful trees. The central tea house is being renovated as well as the zig-zag bridge.
The 300 year old pine was planted when the 6th Shogun renovated the gardens. It survives intact today. They have many support poles to hold up the heavy branches.
All the trees are meticulously pruned and dead needles individually removed. Quite a number of folks were having lunch on the grounds. The garden has Tokyo Bay on one side with a sea wall and the other sides are surrounded by huge skyscrapers. It is one of the few peaceful quiet areas in the middle of a very crowded city.
Several wisteria arbors appeared throughout the garden. They'll be stunning when they blossom in a few weeks. We actually did see a bride and her party having their pictures taken.

One of the older buildings now under repair
Lovely graceful bridges throughout the garden.

After a brief stop for rolls and juice, we headed back to find the Toyko subway back to the Ginza and on to Tokyo Station. From there we walked to the Imperial Palace. Along the way were many fashionable shops and restaurants. The Palace itself is only open three days during the year but you can walk some of the grounds, see three of the gates, walk along the moat and get some great pictures of the buildings.

After a wonderful couple of hours wandering around and peering around every corner they would let us, we made a brief stop at a snack stand for some ice cream and a bowl of udon noodles and broth and then headed back to the subway for our ride home. It was delightful! Everyone had a seat and it was peaceful and quiet all the way home--hard to believe it was the same train as this morning! Jill picked us up at the train station and we headed home and had just a little time before we headed three directions--Colin to Tiger Cubs at 5 and baseball practice at 6 and to Ryan's T-ball practice at 5.
That was one entertaining practice as all these 4-5 year olds swarmed to the ball! Ryan is one intense player! I headed home to help with dinner while John went to Colin's practice. Fun evening after a great day! We didn't even get lost!!