Misterpiggy was supposed to go on a city tour of Tokyo on Wednesday morning but missed it because he overslept. Fortunately the Hato city tour company was kind enough to reschedule the city tour to Sunday. The bus tour itinerary included visits to the Tokyo Tower in Roppongi, a stop at the Imperial palace, a stop at Asakusa, a drive by through the Ginza district, with a final stop at a cultured pearl shop.
Misterpiggy was picked up by bus at the hotel at 8:00 am and shunted to the Hato Bus Tour transfer terminal, where they matched up all of the other tour participants from other hotels into their corresponding tours. It looked like mayhem as buses pulled into and out of the station, and tour guides were scurrying to and fro.
The tour finally started at 9:15 and the tour guide was an older gent whose name as Naito. He provided some basic info about Japanese culture and history while our tour bus headed to Tokyo tower. Naito advised that the Tokyo Tower was actually taller (340m) than the Eiffel tower (322 m) and that there be a new Tokyo tower that would be completed in east Tokyo at a height of 640m in 2009.
The tour group was allowed ten minutes to enjoy the views and take pictures from the lower of two observation decks (150m and 250m). After which there was five minutes to explore the gift shop before heading back to the tour bus.
The next stop was at the Imperial palace and everyone was dropped off at the nearly empty parking lot for fifteen minutes. One could not enter the palace grounds so picture taking and sight seeing were limited to the views from the parking lot. The palace grounds was very beautiful but there wasn't enough time to explore and appreciate it. It was an oasis of quiet and serenity amidst the hustle and bustle of downtown Tokyo.
The last place of interest on the tour was back at Asukusa and the Senso-ji temple grounds. Tour guide Naito gave everyone 30 mins to visit the temple and area. Today, it was extra crowded because there was some kind of festival going on!
After 45 mins to wander around, Misterpiggy re-boarded the bus for a drive by of the famous Ginza shopping district and a quick visit to the Pearl shop. It didn't look like anyone in the tour group was interested in buying any pearls that day. By 1 pm Misterpiggy was returned to the Keio Plaza to pack and check out from the hotel and head to Narita Airport for the next part of his trip: Hong Kong!
Sayonara and Bye bye Tokyo! Misterpiggy really enjoyed his short stay in Tokyo and promises to go back to Japan one day to see more.
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