I had one full day in Tokyo before joining my tour for a Welcome Dinner. I had slept fitfully until about 4 a.m. and then decided to get up at 5 a.m. I finished off my tuna and salad for breakfast and washed it down with a cup of coffee, using the first of my little packets of decaf. No cream, but beggers can’t be choosers.
Nisihitetsu Inn to Keio Plaza Hotel
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The first order of the day was to check out of my hotel and move my luggage to the Tokyo tour hotel, the Keio Plaza. Unfortunately the day’s weather forecast was not too promising, so I decided to move as early as possible to avoid the rain (we ended up with 1.3 inches for the day). I figured that I could get there around 8 a.m. so I did some email and reorganized my bags since they were going to be in storage all day at the new hotel. After a quick trip outside to investigate the temperature, I decided on my clothes and, as it turns out, set the pattern for the rest of the trip. Brown pants would be for rainy days. It didn’t seem so cold out there but the low was around 47 F and the high only predicted to be in the mid 50’s (actual 54). Then off I went, out into the hustle and bustle of Tokyo rush hour with my rolling bag.
It was less than a 10 minute walk, felt good to be outside again, and strange and wonderful to be in a different world after so many years without travel. My intrepid explorer self was back. Of course I was totally organized, and had no chance of getting lost because of all my pre-travel preparation. The streets were completely familiar after “walking” them so many times with my little Google man. And for backup I had my Touch with all the directions - but wait a minute - the directions were backwards. I had got a little bored with my preparations and decided that the instructions I had to get me from the Limo Bus at the Keio Plaza to the Nishitetsu Inn would be good enough. Never mind - it was fine - and I got there without even looking at my Touch.
After checking my bags with the bell captain, I was free to start my day. I had planned a tour of up to 4 gardens as well as a visit to some department store rooftop gardens. It was decision time. I had created various permutations of my itinerary which depended upon how tired I felt, how early I started, and what I felt like seeing. I decided that I had lots of time and so I could see all the gardens, despite the weather, then come back to the hotel to check in and get my room, then go out again to see the local department store gardens. The only thing I would miss out was the store in Ginza, Mitsukoshi. My Google explorations had suggested that there was a reasonable garden on top of Mitsukoshi, but the ones on the two Shinjuku stores looked better, and two seemed like enough. So off I went.