Day Three - Imperial Palace

The Japanese call it Dry Mist - well, that's what was written on the sign as we wandered between some buildings on our way to the Imperial Palace. Very fine sprays of water were gushing out of thin pipes above and people could cool off as they walked or rode past. Although it was September when officially the summer season was over, the days were exceedingly hot and humid and on this day temps were particularly high.
Lesley especially noticed it at the palace when our water bottles ran down too quickly and the heat was relentless. Her flushed pink face said it all!

We took the subway and arrived near the palace entrance. Other tourists were heading in the same direction so we followed them. Luckily for us, we had arrived just in time for a tour of the palace grounds. It was a Saturday and that was the day when these tours happen. We had to stand in a queue and show our passports in order to gain an entrance ticket. It was all very formal.
We followed our guide in and our group must have numbered close to a hundred people. The palace, the moat, the bridges and the surrounding buildings are quite magnificent. So old, so ancient, so timeless even. We were amazed as we looked closely at the old stones piled up high into walls and fences. The trees, mostly pine, and the green grassy areas are so well kept.
Several security people hovered around us motioning us to keep together and stay on the paths to one side. Of course there were the usual few who chose to run in and out outside the perimeters of

where they wanted us to be. Very hard to herd so many sheep along the designated path. I could see the frustration on the faces of some of the Japanese security guys.
That evening, we met up with our homestay student, Yuuya Oide, who stayed with us at Sirron Street for a week. He is a student now at university in Tokyo. Yuuya had booked an authentic Japanese restaurant which we foreigners would never know existed. We went to some nondescript building and up a very narrow and shaky lift and there we were, smack bang in the middle of an old style restaurant with tiny cubicles and holes in the floor for one's feet. Yuuya had ordered for us too and the drinks and several courses of food arrived shortly. Very delicious. But we paid the bill as he is a student.
We noted he had changed his hair colour and we were surprised. He said it's called 'gold' in Japan and sounds as if it's all the rage. We did notice a few other young guys with a similar colour. Very un-Asian but sure to make an impression!