Thursday, June 26, 2008

Imperial Palace Gardens and Kappabashi-dori











Today I went to two areas that I've already been to, but realized that I missed some attractions in each area.  The Imperial Palace Gardens and Kappabashi-dori in Asakusa.  First, was the Imperial Palace Gardens, which is the only area of the palace open to the public.  Shown here is the main gate to enter the gardens.











Overall, the gardens where very nice and seemed like a great reprieve from the urban surroundings.  This was a large courtyard in one of the main sections of the gardens from a observation point.














Moving on to Kappabashi-dori couldn't be any different.  This main thoroughfare in the old Edo-style Asakusa neighborhood is where they sell a lot of kitchenware items for major restaurants, including life-size pieces of sushi and other food made from rubber.  The samplings of food are used to display in restaurant windows to show what kind of food they have to offer.     














At the end of my journey, I ran across this small block and couldn't help but wonder if people actually live in these small buildings?

1 comment:

JP said...

I like the small block. Looks like a good spot for the Japanese version of Sal.