yamaonna

  God Bless long weekends! 

This weekend was a long weekend for me because on Saturday, it was the Emperor’s Birthday!  So not only did I get Christmas day off, but the weekend before it!~  I won’t be as lucky next year

So, Saturday being the Emperor’s Birthday, you are supposed to be able to see the Royal family at the Imperial Palace…  I really don’t know if that happens, because I decided to go, and I don’t think I saw anything that isn’t open at any other time of the year.  They have the East garden which is open all year around, and Im sure it would be quite beautiful in spring.  I also walked around the whole palace, which took over an hour.  Its a huge place.

There’s a lot of moats, old stone walls, guard houses and gates.  It’s pretty impressive, however, the sad thing is that most of the built structures aren’t originals.. But you would find that true with a lot of Japanese historical sites.  Still, they are usually faithful replicas, and they can really transfer you back in time~

The gardens are really beautiful and well kept, and Im sure when there’s a bit more green and flowers out it would be a sight to behold.  Its kinda like an oasis in the middle of Tokyo (well, technically its not the middle…  and it used to be on Tokyo Bay… but with land reclamation you certainly cant see the sea anymore….)

Certainly worth the visit (esp since the garden is free!)

Sunday, unfortunately I was feeling pretty sick once more… Hopefully I’ll be able to get over my colds over the holidays and my immune system will get back up to speed.. touch wood.

Today was Christmas, of course!  I didn’t plan to do much apart from call my family and eat KFC for lunch (its traditional christmas food in japan?!?).  However, Xina, being the wonderful person she is, decided that was no good, and we, being Xina, Jason, Peter and myself, all went to the Grand Hyatt for lunch. 

They have this great restaurant called French Kitchen, where you can get brunches, lunches, and dinner.  We went for lunch, and that included all you can eat entrees, choice of main, all you can eat desserts, a glass of champagne, tea or coffee, and cheeses…  It was a bit expensive, but it was really worth it…  And I ended up drinking Xina and Peters’ glasses of champagne… so I was a bit happy.

Ended up being a better christmas than I expected