Žiga is joining me soon and happyfoxtravels becomes a duo again, 🙂 so I used the rest of my solo time to do laundry that we both start with a full stack of clothes. I then made a step by step plan of what I wanted to squeeze in my last solo day.

My first sightseeing stop was Tokyo Imperial Palace and its East Gardens, which are open to the public and free of admission. The closest metro station to the entrance of the gardens is Otemachi station (I graduated from Tokyo Metro and its app in the past days). The area surrounding the Imperial Palace is relaxing and has the most beautiful grass ever. If you are a gardener you will know why I am impressed. The gardens are open until 16:30.

I could spend hours here, laying in the grass and reading a book, as some people do.

But my next stop on the list was Meiji Shrine, near Harajuku Station. It is a place where you can go and hide from the Tokyo heat in June. It is relaxing, a piece of nature in the city and nobody is in a hurry here. So if you need a break from Tokyo rhythm, you’ve come to the right place.

While here, you can write your wishes and tie them to the prayer wall. When you come to a place like this, you see that people from all over the world have the same wishes in mind – peace, love, health, happiness, success. But I took photos of some of the wishes I particularly liked.

I had a whole list of things I wanted to see from here on – Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and Tokyo Government Building with its Observatory. But I was hungry for a change, so I headed to Shibuya to J.S. Pancake cafe, which I noticed the day before. In passing, I took a quick photo of the legendary Hachiko, which you can find near Exit 8 of Shibuya Station. There is a huge line to take a photo with him, so you’ll have to be patient, unlike me.

I am leaving the rest of the things for another day since I walked 11 km already and I’ve had enough. We are also moving to Akihabara tomorrow so its time to pack and have some golden mic karaoke in Shinjuku. 🙂

PS: Getting lost at Shinjuku Station is completely normal, even locals get confused by its size and complexity.