With this post, I am finally catching up on my blog after so many busy port days. It feels so good to have a day at sea to catch up (and I won the blackjack tournament)!  It is a wonderful 68 degrees and my walk on the deck was actually refreshing.

Our tour yesterday was the Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens and the Tokyo Tower.  We were hoping that the gardens would be first so that we would be OK to leave the tour when we got to the tower, and make it in time for my 11:45 nail appointment.  When we got to the bus and the guide we were told that we were going to the gardens first.

We traveled through the city with its many green spaces.  They are generally not as big as parks in the US and some other countries, but they are very beautiful and serene.  The one we visited was originally built by the founder of the Mito branch of the  Tongagawa clan in the early stage of the Edo period, 1629. Its style is kaiyu (circuit) style with ponds and manmade hills centering on the pond. The word Korakuen is derived from a Chinese text meaning “Worry before all worries in the world and enjoy after all enjoyments in the world.”

There is a plum orchard, seasonal flower beds (right now iris is in season and we did see a few balloon flowers which will bloom soon.) There is also a rice paddy field which is to symbolize how important rice is to Japanese people. There are many water lilies.

We got back to the tower, walked to the nail salon where I had a meticulous gel manicure (they do not do dip powder here in Japan). The manicurist spoke English and did a great job.  It looked like the salon was attached to her apartment and her cat was in the next room so she takes one client at a time.  I was lucky to find her.

After the manicure, we took the train back to the Tokyo Station where we found Ramen Street and yes, had another ramen lunch. 

This area also has a character street where almost any kind of children’s toy can be found.

After another exhausting day crisscrossing Tokyo, we again took the train and the monorail back to the ship.

We had dinner in Polo and had a great table at the aft of the ship.  Here’s the marine museum that is shaped like a ship and the cruise terminal as we left Tokyo.

And this was on the reception desk when we got back after our exploration of the city!