When I got back to Tokyo, I walked to the same hotel I stayed at before in Ginza. I dropped off my case and went back out and walked to Hama Rikyu Gardens just around the corner from the hotel.

Hama Rikyu Gardens

300 Year Old Pine at Hama Rikyu Gardens, Tokyo

This large gardens has a 300 year old Pine tree at the entrance. There are paths leading off in multiple directions. Unfortunately I was too early for the autumn colours in the trees, I think normally the trees would be starting to go golden by now. Japan has had a long summer like the UK has had and autumn has come later than usual. The gardens were still beautiful though.

Hama Rikyu Gardens, Tokyo

Hama Rikyu Gardens, Tokyo

Hama Rikyu Gardens, Tokyo

After spending a little bit of time here, I went back to the hotel to check in.

Shibuya

I headed to Shibuya by train with my Leica M6 loaded with a roll of Cinestill 800T and a tripod to try and capture the lights of the streets at night. I’ll have to wait until my scans come back from the lab to see how they turned out. After finishing the roll I got the train back to Ginza to get some dinner. I went to the a Ginza Lion and after dinner tried Sake for the first time. I don’t have much to say about Sake really, it didn’t taste of much at all. I will try it again one day when I get home. I went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Going Home

The next day I woke up at 7.00, got ready and packed my case. I checked out, walked to Tokyo station and got the Narita Express to the airport. 15 hours or so later I was back home, having had an amazing time. I loved Japan so much, I don’t think I even scratched the surface there really. I hope someday to go back again and see more of Japan. I missed my wife and kids though, nearly 10 days away from them is a long time and not something I would want to do all the time. According to my fitbit, during my 8 days in Japan I walked 117 miles, 250000 steps. My feet need a good long rest after that.

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Plenty more walking was on the cards again for today. I set out at 8am for the Imperial Palace behind Tokyo Station. I only really got as far as the front gate, well the Nijubashi Bridge. Like Buckingham Palace it’s still a royal residence, so the only way to get any further is with a tour. I took a few photos of the bridge and walked back to Tokyo Station.

Harajuku

I got the train to Harajuku, where I’d read there’s a shopping street where all the trendy young people go. This is obviously the perfect place for me (just in case it’s not clear, this was sarcasm). I found Takeshita Street, a single long road packed with shops and people, you could barely move. This is a great spot for street photography. I walked up and down the street a couple of times.

Takeshita Street, Harajuku

Takeshita Street, Harajuku

Shibuya

Harajuku is quite close to Shibuya so I walked back there to a bar that I had been to yesterday that I knew wasn’t too busy. I had a dish of fried sea bass and shrimp in a skewer and a beer for lunch. I don’t drink beer only on very rare occasions back home, I’m not a big fan of it, but I quite like the Japanese beer and have been having a couple a day.

After lunch I had a walk around Shibuya to see if there was anything I missed yesterday. Every little back street in Tokyo can lead you to a whole new area you’ve not seen before, it’s fantastic. Having spent some time in Shibuya I walked back to Harajuku to see Takeshita Street at a different time of day. I walked up and down the street a few more times, attempting to do street photography with the Ricoh GRII. I’m not sure I was particularly successful. I do love street photography, but I don’t think I’m brave enough to get close enough for good street shots.

Street Photography in Harajuku

Shinjuku

It was getting close to evening and I fancied the bright lights of Shinjuku for my evenings photography, so I walked from Harajuku to Shinjuku which took about 20 minutes. I walked and shot around here for a while stopping for another beer too.

Hello Kitty, Shinjuku

Shinjuku

When it was time to go back to the hotel I got on the Yamanote line train to Shimbashi, unfortunately I got on the train going in the wrong direction. I didn’t notice for about 3 stops, but luckily the Yamanote line is circular and would still get me to where I wanted to go, just a bit slower than expected.

When I got back to the hotel, my feet were killing me. Over the past 4 days I’ve walked about 60 miles. The hotel has a foot bath, so I soaked my feet in there for awhile. I think it definitely helped.

That was my last full day in Tokyo, tomorrow I go to Kyoto. Today’s step count is 34660, roughly 16 miles.

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I started the day around Ginza before walking the 3.5 miles to Shibuya (I’m really getting my step count up), this is another great area of Tokyo. I’m a city type of person, so I love big buildings and lights, so this was great. I spent about 5 hours walking around Shibuya with my Leica M6, Ricoh GRII and Polaroid SX-70.

Shibuya

I got the Tokyo Metro back to Ginza and went out with my tripod to try and get some long exposure shots with the M6 and some Ektar and the Ricoh. I think I got some ok shots.

Long Exposure in Ginza

I recorded some video but the sound was terrible, so I’ve put some music over the top of it instead.

By the time I went to bed I’d walked over 16 miles, 35000 steps.

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