Tokyo – Day3
Awoke this morning to heavy rain as forecast, so did not go out early. Eventually braved the weather and headed out around 10:30am for a shopping expedition to Ginza. A short walk took us to Iidabashi station where we caught our metro train on the Tozai line. 4 stops later we got off at Nihombashi station and transferred to the Ginza line. 2 stops later we arrived and got off at Ginza station. At the exit we went straight into the Mitsukoshi head branch of Japan’s oldest department store founded in 1673. Explored the various levels and then down to the food in the basement. From there we went back down a long walking tunnel to the GSIX underground mall. Explored various stores down there before heading up to Chuo-Dori Ave, the main shopping area. Found and entered the UniQlo clothing store. 12 floors in here all of which were extremely busy as it is the Golden Week holiday. Eventually headed back to Ginza station for the return trip to Iidabashi, arriving around 1:30pm. The rain had eased off by this time so we stopped off at Patisserie Farine again to pick up some lunch. 2pm coffee at the local Starbucks just across the street from the hotel. Around 3pm headed across to the Tokyo Dome, just as sun began to break through. As we crossed the river we exchanged waves with a passing tourist boat. Checked out the baseball store at the Dome then walked a shot distance into the nearby Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens. Originally built by Yorifusa, the founder of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa clan around 1629. Entry fee of 150 yen gave us access to these beautiful gardens. Wandered around Uchiniwa the first small lake then on to Dai-sensui the central lake. After the recent rain everything looked lush and green. Starting at the Pine Grove we walked all the way round the lake passing a small waterfall on the way. Park closed at 5pm so we were out shortly before this. Walked back to our hotel then out for dinner around 7pm to an Asian restaurant just behind our hotel called the Nan House. Very windy this evening, but dry.
