Shinjuku gyoen

Note (for future reference) 100 yen = approx $0.88

We set out for the "big park on the other side of Shinjuku Station" this morning. We made our way through Shinjuku Station (Andrew being carried most of the way; those little legs have gotten a real workout this week!), and after only a couple of wrong turns, we made it out the other side (though not exactly the place we were trying to exit).

Walking around Shinjuku, an area of the town where I had never been, I continued to be amazed at the number of people on the streets. It's probably not much different from being in NYC during a busy time, and maybe I'm just too used to Suwanee!We found Shinjukugyoen and realized we had to pay to enter. 200 yen per person (adult), but the map showed it as huge, so in we went! The first thing I saw as we entered was a cherry blossom tree! Yay! And to think it was just around the block from our hotel where I could have gone last week!

We walked through the beautiful gardens and open fields and marveled at the landscaping. 200 yen was worth it, when you see the upkeep the payment goes toward. We wandered further in, and saw signs directing us to two Traditional Tea Houses. The first tea house was commercialized with a snack stand outside, and the inside used as a resting, eating area. We moved on to the second one, which offers traditional tea ceremonies for 700 yen. With a "needs a nap" child on our arm, we decided not to try the tea ceremony until next time.















As it was after lunchtime by this time, we bought a snack of rice crackers (rice mashed into a circle, baked and flavored with soy sauce) and sat down on a bench to eat. Andrew traded out his circle cracker for a square one several times, then we went on our way. :)Along the walk through the park we came upon a little old man taking pictures. Most of the times we saw him, however, he was walking along the path with his tripod swinging from side to side. I got tickled at him because he was just oblivious to that tripod swinging to and fro. It almost got Andrew a couple of times, and almost got my leg once!