Imperial Palace East Garden

Because we have some free tickets, we went to the National Museum Of Modern Art (MOMAT) in Kitanomaru-koen to see the special exhibition, "Ikuo Hirayama: A Retrospective — Pilgrimage for Peace", and with the same ticket the normal exhibits. 

 It wasn't too bad. The artist was an A-bomb survivor from Hiroshima. His paintings ranged from almost basic pictures, to some really detailed landscapes. 

 I actually prefered the normal exhibits of modern art displayed in the museum. To get there we caught the train to Takebashi station on the Tozai line. 

 From the museum we took a short stroll to the Imperial Palace East Garden (free admission). 

 This is the only accessible part of the Imperial Palace grounds (apart from one day, Jan 1st). They give you an entry token when you go in. I'm sure this is to make sure no-one is in the grounds come closing time and all is accounted for. 

 The main entry is the large Otemon Gate which is followed by one of three guardhouses, the first being the Hyakunin-bansho. 

 We were so tired we crashed on the Higashi Gyoen grass. The park looks over towards the Tenshudai Donjon Base which is one of the few remains of the old Edo Castle that no one bothered to rebuild. 

 After a short rest we made our way towards Tokyo Station and looked around the new Marunouchi Building. 

 We bought a delicious cheesecake and cafe lattes before leaving for a short jaunt in Shinjuku. 

 Walking home my feet were so tired. At least we made the most of the weekend which is always good.