It was time to return to Tokyo because our rail pass would soon expire, so Peter and I set off on the Shinkansen for the return trip. With all the rain the past several days, Mount Fuji put on a nice crown of snow for us to enjoy as we rode past on the train. The photograph at the top of this page is how Mount Fuji looked that day.

We arrived in Tokyo and trekked through the city with our backpacks to the hotel where we left our bags and went to have lunch. In the midst of the expensive Ginza restaurants, we found a small hole-in-the-wall Thai resturant which was full up, so we waited to be seated. While we spoke no Thai and very little Japanese, and the hostess spoke very little English, we nevertheless communicated with few words and by gesturing. Both Peter and I ordered the dish recommended by the hostess, which consisted of an assortment of items, all very delicious.

Next we visited Hama-rikyu gardens.  Most interesting to me was the Sambyakunen-no-matsu, a pine tree planted by the 6th shogun about 300 years ago.  The main trunk is on higher ground and thick limbs sprout out from the bottom of the trunk to drape down the hillside, the limbs supported by timber stilts which are hidden beneath the foliage.

I also enjoyed exploring the duck blinds and other land amendments used by the ancient shogun to lure wild ducks so they could catch them using either falcons or nets depending on the era of Japanese history, all for sport.  Peter stopped to admire and photograph the monument placed in modern times by a falconeer association to honor and mourn the many wild ducks killed by ancient shogun and their falcons for sport.

In the evening we searched Tokyo Station to find a vegan ramen place where Peter wanted to go and discovered that it was behind the fare gate.  Fortunately, like Cinderella, our JR Rail Passes were good until midnight, so we went in and ate golden sesame ramen, the best ramen I had during the trip.

Then we walked over to the Imperial Palace grounds and sat for awhile near the trees.  We walked back to the hotel through the heart of Ginza marveling at the sights.

Few people in Japan, if any, are prone to cross the street against a red light, even if the street is 10 feet wide and there are absolutely no cars around.  They simply wait patiently for the light to turn green before walking across the street.

At 20:00 on Tuesday, the trains are packed with people, the street crossings near Tokyo Station are full of diners, most of whom appear to be working people and not tourists.  Turning a corner, off the main flow of people walking on the sidewalk, I spied a man in a suit and a woman in a dress standing close, faces close together, when suddenly the woman slapped the man’s face.  The man persisted in his approach a few more moments, and then, another slap, after which the man walked away.  From my American perspective, the exchange seemed anachronistic.

For the most part, the only people wearing short pants in Japan, even in hot weather, appear to be foreigners.  I saw very many school aged people wearing their school uniforms, even late into the night.

The next morning, we departed Tokyo Station on a train to Omiya to visit Omiya Bonsai Village.  We spent time in the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum and then toured the village to enjoy all the Bonsai, some of them many hundreds of years old.  Indeed, one of the trees was 800 years old.

Upon our return to Tokyo that afternoon, we headed over to Tsukiji Market, Tokyo’s famed fish market.  While the fishmongers had mostly closed up shop we were there in search of sushi.  It was there that we happened upon Tsukiji Itadori Bekken, a Sushi bar with only 12 seats where Peter and I sat and watched the sushi chef prepare a delicious platter for each of us.

The sushi was very good and we waited in a long line.  I had a nice conversation with a woman from Vancouver who hails from Hong Kong, who was in Japan visiting with her parents and other family who came to Japan to meet with her.  I learned that she and I both started our careers at the same international accounting firm, although my stint at that firm was more than 40 years ago when the company was known by a different name.

After lunch, Peter and I returned to the hotel and I went out to explore the used camera stores in Ginza.  Later, eschewing the fancy restaurants that surrounded us, Peter and I opted for the small soba noodle shop across the street.  The menu was simple with very few choices and the shop was manned by one person serving as host, waiter, cook, and busboy.  I enjoyed the food.

The next day we explored different parts of Tokyo, Shinzuku and Nihombashi, and we visited the observation room on the 40th floor of the Tokyo Municipal Building.  And what stay in Tokyo would be complete . . .

. . . without a visit to the Pokemon Center.

I then visited several photo galleries in Ginza.  At the Fuji Photo Gallery Ginza, I enjoyed images of parts of Japan we did not visit, and images of seasons in Japan in which I was not present.

The last gallery I visited was hard to find.  Google maps indicated I was there, but I could not find the place.  Gesturing with my phone, I asked a guy who had ridden up on his bike if he would help find the gallery.  He spoke but a few words of English, and I only a few of Japanese.  And yet, together we puzzled over the problem.  He was there to make a delivery so he locked his bike and told me to wait while he delivered his package.  When he returned, he entered a shop to inquire with the shopkeeper.  After  he came out, we walked down a block and looked around in vain.  So we walked down to the next corner where my new friend waved to another man in a shop who came out and the two of them engaged in a lively discussion, none of which I understood.

Soon my friend and I were headed back down the block.  We parted ways standing in front of a building.  “Arigato gozaimasu,” said I to my friend, whose reply I did not comprehend.  After he rode off, I entered the building and I finally found the gallery.  I was delighted by my interaction with my fast and fleeting friend.

That evening, our last night in Tokyo, Peter and I walked in a more residential area near our hotel, where we examined the most wanted posters on the bulletin board at the police station.

The next day, we were all packed up and ready to depart, having thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Japan.