Tourists in Tokyo: The Imperial Palace East Gardens

A sunny day made for continued very pleasant walking at our next stop, the Imperial Palace East Gardens. On this site (as is said), Edo Castle was the residence of the Tokugawa shogun who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867. Emperor Meiji also resided there from 1868 to 1888 before moving to the newly constructed Imperial Palace. The vast expanses of a couple of these sites (200 or more acres)must be even more impressive to Japanese than they are to us, existing as they do in midst of one of the largest and most densely populated cities and countries in the world.



Mr. Sato proudly carries his "fish flag" as we enter the grounds.









A stand of bamboo trees...



This was our only chance for a hasty snap of a sight we saw more the once - pretty obviously daycare kiddies being wheeled around in shopping-cart-like wagons.