Viva Tokyo!

Today was fabulous! We spent the day sightseeing in Tokyo. Here is a snapshot of what we experienced:

In front of Imperial Palace:

The largest shrine in Tokyo. First you walk through the gate & you are purified mentally and spiritually. Then you cleanse your hands and mouth with water to purify physically.

We took part in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. This ceremony dates back five hundred years. I was chosen as the guest of honor :) and sat to the left of the host, was served first and gave a speech on behalf of our group.

Some of my favorite photos are ones I took of the locals:

I dont know what this place was called. Our guide Chieko just called it `the large paper lantern and place with 100 shops`. It was very cool.

The Japanese believe smoke has healing and beautification powers, so the stand near it and waft it in their face. This is Hannah and Nessie trying to get beautiful.

Inside you could pay $1.00 to get your fortune. If it was good you took the paper with you. If it is bad you tie it to the pole and leave it behind. Nessie was sad because she got a bad fortune. (mine was a `regular` fortune).

The architecture here is very unusual. The building on the left is the headquarters of a beer company and is designed to look like a glass of beer (with the foam on top). The building to the right is meant to be a flame of peace.

This evening we took a short cruised down the river that leads to Tokyo bay. We crossed under several brideges. These are some of my favorites:

This picture shows several Tokyo skyline highlights: Japan`s own Statue of Liberty (yes, they got one from France too... who knew?); Rainbow bridge, and the bright structure behind the bridge is Tokyo tower - the tallest structure in Tokyo (it slightly taller than the eiffel tower and up close looks similar).

Sayonara for now!