We arranged to meet Joanna this morning to sightsee together and what a busy day it turned out to be. Armed with our rail pass for the last time we did a complete circle around the final must see's. We met just by the Picasso exhibition in the railway station that we had failed to find yesterday and surprisingly all museums are closed on Mondays in Tokyo. So our visit to the imperial palace and gardens was just a look at the walls from outside. However whilst looking at our next journey on the station map a tour guide advised us that where we we're going the museum was open and free today. This was the Edo Tokyo museum and featured a lot of buildings and items from this dynasty which lasted until the 1850's and was responsible for all the old buildings you see in Japan.There was even a kabuki demonstration,something Joanne had wanted to see but was prohibitively expensive. The special exhibition which was packed was to commemorate a battle 400 years ago that marked the start of the Edo dynasty. Original armour,maps and a kind of painted "bateaux tapestry" on scrolls which were works of art in their own right apart from their depicting the battle itself were fascinating. The best bit was the giant golden battle fan,far more impressive than our western flags of the time.We enjoyed a pasta meal with a glass of wine,the first since Sri Lanka,in the museum cafe before going to see our original destination, Hokusai dori,a street where the painter grew up in and all the lamp posts feature his work but we couldn't find the public loo with his work although we asked some locals. Next stop was to see the Meiji Jingu shrine,not yet 100 years old but dedicated to the emperor who let the world back into Japan in the 1860's and started the modernising of the country.
We then walked past the Olympic stadium down into Shibuya where we had stayed the night previously and did plenty of window shopping . The crowds are astounding as they surge across the scramble crossing there. By now the neon signs were flickering into life,shops were blaring out music as were the juggernauts driving around promoting the latest releases and it was time to visit the final district Ginza. This was designed by an Englishman so there are wider than normal roads with wide pavements and trees. Here are the real designer shops,Cartier,Harrods etc and top end restaurants. Armed with a guide book and after several enquiries we found where we were looking for,the last request was when we were standing right outside the restaurant but its sign was only in Japanese. Thankfully a rival restaranteur opposite pointed it out to us. Sadly the Japanese do allow smoking in restaurants which is odd because it is forbidden in the streets and they have to huddle in special areas and enclosed shelters.
We said our goodbyes to Joanne at the station as we all had to pack and be ready for our flights tomorrow,she to uk and us to Hong Kong via Shanghai.