Doing Touristy Things in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

There are so many things to see and do in Tokyo, but we only had two days and these were what we managed to visit:

We visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for its free 202-meter high observatories (north and south). They say that on a clear day Mt Fuji can be seen. It was too hazy to see Mt Fuji that day but it was fascinating to see the city so densely covered in buildings fading into the horizon.

Directions to Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building: Take the subway Oedo Line to Tochomae Station. The station is on the basement of the building. If you'd like to use your JR Pass, the closest JR station is Shinjuku. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is a 10-minute walk from JR Shinjuku Station's west exit.

Shinjuku Gyoen has meandering tree-lined paths connecting a greenhouse and three gardens: a Japanese traditional garden (think ponds, bridges, teahouses), an English landscape garden (think wide lawns surrounded by trees), and a French formal garden (think rose bushes and sycamore trees).

When we visited at the end of October, most of the trees were still green, too early for koyo (autumn colored foliage). A nice surprise though were the large chrysanthemums of different colors in the Japanese garden. In Japan, the chrysanthemum is representative of autumn, and most importantly a symbol for longevity and rejuvenation. It is the Imperial Family Emblem and can also be seen on a 50 yen coin and on the Japanese passport. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).