We skipped dinner last night opting instead for another early night and once again turned out the light by 8pm and did not wake until 6am. Not surprisingly we were both hungry when we woke so after coffee in bed we headed down to the function room where all Regent guests enjoyed a complementary buffet breakfast. The buffet table takes up three sides of the room and every nationality is catered for. After breakfast we had to do a RAT Covid Test and thankfully we were both negative so we are free to board the ship tomorrow. We have to have another RAT test when we come back to Japan from Korea next week. We were told that Japan is still not fully recovered from Covid and only last month opened its borders to cruise ships. We were completely taken aback. What would Regent had done if the borders didn't re-open? Thankfully it is a question that will never have to be asked.
Today was another half day tour of Tokyo. First stop was the Imperial Palace Plaza where we had a photography opportunity. You can pay to have a fully conducted tour of the palace but it wasn't included in todays tour and we certainly didn't have time to do it today.
Back on the bus and we were taken to Hamarikyu Gardens for our next stop. We didn't have nearly enough time to explore these gardens that cover a huge area and sadly the Cherry trees flowered early this year so we didn't get a chance to see them in full blossum. However, I did get to see a lovely Wisteria in full colour and stood in awe at the 400 year old oak tree at the entrance to the gardens.
From the gardens it was a short bus drive to the Ginza area that is a very high end shopping area. We had the option of leaving the tour here and making our own way back to our hotel, which we elected to do. I still had a camera to purchase and the tour guide kindly pointed us in the right direction. I have now replaced my ten year old Olympus Pen F with a newer model Olympus camera so I'm very happy. The only problem that I didn't notice until we got back to the hotel was that the instruction manual is written in Japanese! Thankfully the camera is very similar to my old camera so it was not a big problem.
Before leaving the Ginza area we found a lovely authentic Japanese restaurant where we enjoyed a banquet. It was so delicious and very cheap.
We are really enjoying this lovely city. Tokyo metropolitan area has a population of 37 million. That figure is so hard to get your head around. The streets are so lovely and green and clean and we are continually finding hidden gardens. There are hardly any vehicles on the roads as the vast majority of residents use public transport. There is almost zero crime in Japan and it is considered one of the safest countries in the world. I can't wait to see the rest of this lovely country.
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