We said goodbye to the Abe family and spent the night at a hotel in Tokyo so we could experience just a little more of the city before heading back to Yokohama. Although Yokohama is only a 1 hour train ride/walk from Tokyo, we were up for a little adventure and decided the best way to see more of the city was to stay overnight.

Our plan was to catch the train to Tokyo station, put our luggage in a locker and walk over to see the Imperial Palace. Unfortunately things didn’t quite go as planned. It pays to check beforehand and make sure the Palace is going to be open before you make it the focus of your visit. Closed on Monday and Wednesday.

The boys were disappointed but that didn’t stop us from taking a look around. Note to self: Next time we’ll check the website.

Tokyo station: I have no idea how we found these lockers. The station has been recently renovated and is one massive underground rabbit warren.

It looks beautiful from the outside (and surprisingly more European than Japanese).

We had a lot to take in during our walk from the station to the Palace.

This coach driver was waiting for his passengers. I have never seen someone enjoy feeding pigeons quite as much as this man. It was wonderful to watch someone get so much enjoyment out of such a simple pastime.

Thank you for holding onto the Autumn leaves into late November, Tokyo. This photographer truly appreciates it.

We finally made it to the palace and took photos at the spot where, I’m sure, many a tourist has taken a photo. The best view of the palace.

I love the reflection in this one.

We shook off some of our disappointment at not being able to go inside with some twirling.

Even Samuel’s puppy dog eyes weren’t enough for them to open the gate.

That teeny little door that they walk through reminds me of the entrance to the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz.

On the walk back to the station, we stopped at a little Ramen place in the underground rabbit warren for lunch. Then Kei and I searched for a wireless signal so we could find the right train back to Yokohama.

Yes, we were disappointed but at least we experienced a little adventure. And didn’t come down with food poisoning, so there’s that…

Besides, now we have something to add to our list of must-sees for our next trip to Japan.