The Royal Experience!

 






These pictures were all taken near the Imperial Palace, the Tokyo residence for the Japanese royal family. The bridge is the Nijubashi Bridge. The garden shot was taken in the Ninomaru Garden. I will be sharing a lot of photos from these gorgeous sites as I took almost 1400 photos in one and a half days! Photography heaven!

I took and used all of my professional gear. Including my water bottle and tripod, I hauled around about 30 pounds worth of gear. In the 95 degree heat, it was definitely a challenging workout! What was also challenging was my first solo excursion around Tokyo. I was able to get from our motel to the bridge with no problems. However, such was not the case for the trip back to the motel! I guess the spirits decided I needed more exercise as I proceeded to walk for six miles when the trip should have been just over a mile! 

Unbeknownst to me, there was some glitch with the address Setsuko texted to me. Basically, I walked in circles for two hours! However, it got even more hysterical! I got to what looked like our motel. It had the same name and same appearance. I got in the elevator but my card did not work. A gracious customer helped with selecting the second floor. The door opened, but it sure did not look like our floor! Back in the elevator, with my card again not working, the elevator took me up to the 11th floor. Somehow and some way, I ended up back on the main floor. 

Fortunately for me, one thing did go right. The clerk spoke English! She looked at my card and said that I was at the wrong motel. My motel has a similar name but is down the street! After a total of just over 30,000 steps, I slept well that night!

All the best,

Bob


Comments

  1. JuneAugust 13, 2023 at 6:31 PM

    Did you hear about the job yet? Thankful to the clerk that spoke English . I would love to see more of the royal palace. I miss you, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousAugust 13, 2023 at 6:38 PM

      Thanks June! I miss you too! No news on the job yet. I will post more pictures. Unfortunately, I was not able to photograph the palace itself because that area is closed to the public. The building in my pictures is an old watchtower that I think is no longer used. All the best, Bob

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