After a hearty stone-grilled cuisine lunch at Mokushundo, we were driven to Imperial Palace Plaza. On our way to our next location, Atsushi pointed at historical and significant edifices that we saw along the way. Moreover, he also showed photos of great samurais and talked about their lives and achievements. He described each one like an enthusiastic grade school reporter: in great detail and with fervor. Despite being seated at the back of the bus, I tried to listen to what he said and got snippets of it. He mentioned an interesting quote by a samurai about nightingales but I cannot remember it now. And if you know me, you know that it frustrates me. Hahaha.
Going back to the tour, Imperial Palace is nestled in the grounds within Kokyo-Gaien National Garden. We were instructed that we had half an hour to explore the garden and go as close to the Imperial Palace as possible. The Imperial Palace was not open to the public at that time. It is open to the public only on January 2 for New Year’s Greetings and on February 23, the Emperor’s birthday.
The first thing that I noticed was how green and clean Kokyo-Gaien National Garden was. According to my research, the garden is 500 meters from east to west and 800 meters from north to south. It is not as colorful as other gardens but it boasts of Japanese black pines.
Standing tall in one corner of Kokyo-Gaien National Garden is the bronze statue of Kusunoki Masashige. Kusunoki was a samurai and was regarded as a paragon of loyalty to the Imperial family. The statue represents Kusunoki awaiting the return in 1333 of the Emperor Go-Daigo (1288-1339) from exile in the Oki islands in the Sea of Japan. Kusunoki was a brilliant strategist who defeated the Kamakura shogunate in 1333, allowing the Emperor to restore Imperial rule, albeit briefly, after almost 150 years of samurai rule.
A short walk from the bronze statue is the Imperial Palace. When we were a kilometer away from the gate, Atsushi narrated a story about samurais, emperors and shogunates. He also showed us a photo of his daughter and sang a melody for us. And we had ten minutes left. I enjoyed the stories so I did not mind not getting closer to the residence of the Emperor that was surrounded by moats. Historical and personal stories seem much more fun sometimes. If you see me, ask me about Atsushi’s stories and I will tell you what I can remember.
Sumida River is Tokyo’s vein to the heart of the sea. On either side of the river stand numerous modern buildings mixed with a handful of old beauties. Some of the Tokyo landmarks that are in full view from the water bus include Tokyo Skytree (which I met the night before while she was twinkling like rainbow star. Yes, I make up my own star colors.), the Asahi Group Headquarters Building and its controversial art topping, and the Rainbow Bridge.
The Asahi Group Headquarters is one eye-catching structure. It looks like a huge rectangular glass of golden beer and the topmost part looks like beer froth. A smaller structure beside it is Asahi Beer Building’s Super Dry Hall. It has an art topping made by Philippe Starck. The art topping is officially called “the Golden Flame” and was supposed to represent the company’s passion. However, the artwork does not resemble flame but it closely looks like human excrement. Locals have called it “the Golden poo” or “the Golden turd”.
The Skytree and the Golden flame are across Asakusa Kannon Temple, which was out next destination.