A Pretty Fence

This decorative fence was adorning the driveway up to the Imperial Palace. It was actually quite high, maybe a meter of so, with those sharp little pineapples on the top. Obviously there to deter people from going into the moat, I found it very decorative and full of inspiration for my lace work.

Renovation Work

Part of the Imperial palace was under renovation work while we were there, once again stopping us from exploring further. The gardens are open to the public and I believe there is a museum on site as well. This was as close as we got, and our last look at the Imperial palace before moving on to the next part of our tour.

Bonsai In The Park

Across the road from the Imperial palace is a park. Check out the full grown bonsai trees! All beautifully pruned and clipped into shape. We didn't see the tree workers doing their stuff, but I am sure we would have if we had time to go for a walk in the park.

A Sweeper

On the roadway in front of the moat around the Imperial Palace I found this sweeper keeping everything clean.

Also, please note the gutter and fence over on the right hand side. All 14 of our group gathered over here for a group photo opportunity. One of our members stood on this gutter and was very firmly told off by security guards. If the gutter was off limits, I guess the lawn was too. We didn't try to find out.

A Park View

Just a view of the park across the way from the Imperial palace. I green space to come sit in the sun and soak up nature. All in the heart of Tokyo.

Imperial Palace - Tokyo

The next stop on our tour of Tokyo was The Imperial Palace. This is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. We did get to walk up the pathway to the right in this pic, but the views were actually better from the grounds on this other side of the moat.

The Palace is situated in approximately 3 and a half acres of garden in the center of Tokyo. We could only view it from  outside the grounds, and was surrounded by a moat.

I just loved the bridge over the moat. It reminded me of the old European bridges that i have seen photos of.