More FUN in Tokyo

My Mom was in Tokyo for a few extra days for work after her vacation with us, so we went up to Tokyo and did some more exploring! We went to beautiful Shinjuku National Gardens and took in all the pretty colors of the trees! Some of us even got to play a little in the leaves... It was a nice day to walk around and there were a lot of people there! These gardens were originally meant for royalty but are now for everyone... or the "common folk." These gardens have been open to the public since 1949.

Yup... all these people are about to cross the street...

Next stop was to Shibuya Crossing... this is one of the biggest pedestrian crossing in the world. It is a scramble crossing so basically a free for all for everyone crossing in all directions. The intersection was made famous in the movie Lost In Translation. Shibuya train station is the 3rd busiest station in Tokyo and the crossing is right outside the station. Shibuya is a major shopping district for the young people in Japan- full of high rise department stores and fashion boutiques. There is a 2 story Starbucks on one side of the intersection and it is an amazing viewing spot to watch all the people cross the street. it is one of the busiest Starbucks in the world!

After this, Damian had to head back to the base to make curfew, but my Mom and I continued on. We headed over to Odaiba, which is a little island pretty much in the middle of Tokyo. You get their by train and by crossing the Rainbow Bridge which is awesome at night. We headed there to watch fireworks! It was really cool since the Rainbow Bridge and the Tokyo Tower were both in the background! It was a fun night with my Mom in Tokyo before I headed back to Yokosuka and she headed back to the U.S.

Japan Word of the Day:
Hanabi (ha-na-bee): Fireworks