I headed over to the Imperial Palace knowing that I could not get in any sort of impressive palace-like building. The Imperial Gardens surrounded it, however, and I wanted to be blown away by some royal shrubbery. The Imperial Palace area is surrounded by lots of water which provide a home to these swans.
Here's one of the Imperial buildings sitting over the water.
As we approached what we thought was the entrance, we realized it was blocked off.
Some security guards were standing by to make sure we took the long way around before we could enter the Imperial Palace. These were not those security guards, but I'm sure they all play mahjong together.
Here's a picture we took circling back around. I wanted to go somewhere new, so I could take a picture of something different. Blame the security guards.
This is an imperial fountain.
Okay, this one looked even more imperial.
Another large body of water we had to circle around.
Still circling. I'm not bitter.
We finally reach the entrance! This tree offers shade to the fish below.
Here are the shaded fish.
This is the main entrance to the Imperial Garden. When I say "we" on this page, I'm referring to me and Fred. Fred's the guy in the lower right in this picture, a nuclear physicist from California that I met by chance who was on business here in Japan. We both didn't know where the hell we were going, but we had fun.
Fred was nice enough to take a picture of me.
Ah, the royal shrubbery! The landscapers here do a pretty good job, and we didn't see any of them at work during my visit. Few trees have the privilege of growing in the big open grassy field. This one provides shade to some resting visitors. Here you have a better view of the sharp-angled shrubbery decorating the field's border.
More royal shrubbery, decorating the hillside like a zebra.
The Japanese love their beautifully manicured trees and when necessary, bolster awkward branches with wooden supports.
A patch of flora along the path, to help my pictures look more professional.
My guess is that the monster from Goonies is caged in here. That's why I didn't go in.
Here's a temple just outside the Imperial Palace grounds that reminded me of a chef's hat.
An artsy, primitive fountain.
We were actually allowed to enter this building on the other side. It served as a mini-museum, souvenir shop, and information center. I bought ice cream here.
There was an arboretum on the palace grounds, including these palm trees.
A perfect specimen of an imperial sunflower.
There were several elevated spots on the palace grounds you can climb up to and take pictures.
This is what the palace grounds look like when it's prepared for ceremonial purposes. Most of the buildings must be built each time.
Peaceful Japanese artwork on display in the museum.
An expensive looking yet simple vase.
A better shot of one of the Japanese artworks.
Here's the gate leading out. Fred and I parted ways. He went off to Tokyo Tower.
It was easy for me to tell him directions to get to Tokyo Tower, because I could point at it.
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