CAPE TOWN DIVA: Tokyo~ a royal garden, another shrine or two, a swan & Ginza..

I walked up the steps like Scarlett did in Lost in Translation. The Meiji Shrine in Shibuya, the largest of the Tokyo Shinto shrines, circa 1921, is made of cypress and copper and surrounded by 175 hectares of evergreen forest - that's about 120,000 trees - and the imposing torii pillars at the entrance are said to be the biggest in the country. The original shrine was destroyed in WWll air raids, rebuilt, and completed in 1958. But enough of the shrines already so I moved on to more camouflage green, you know that wintery colour, this time at the Imperial Palace Gardens, a bit disappointingly dull though as the Sakura trees weren't in bloom. The other trees were also still bare, and on top of that it was a bit of a grey day with rain forecast for the evening. I'd only recommend a visit to those (and any other Japanese gardens) in the cherry blossom season which is early spring, or in summer - that must be exquisite. I spotted a lone swan paddling about in the moat- worried a bit about him for being on his own like that (can I get over my animal stresses already).
Up next, Ginza- upmarket without being stuffy with top end shops and a huge iStore. Here there is no such thing as a till; each salesperson has an iPhone that doubles up as a c/c machine so business is done toute suite! Needless to say I left armed with more Apple things that can't be found in SA.

The Meijii shrine and the torii (pillars) at the entrance...

A beautiful shaped roof I thought ...

Prayers on wooden tablets...

Barrels of sake gifted to the shrine...

And onto things royal ~ The Imperial Palace moat, a few eager Sakura trees and the lone swan...

Walking through the Imperial Palace Gardens...

An imperial pose maybe ?

That swan again, see him between the branches...where's his mate I wonder...

Sakura in bloom on the street in Ginza...

Back at Senso-ji Shrine, this time in the late afternoon...in Asakusa

Geisha ladies checking out their selfies...

More of Senso-ji...see the smoke plume? If you stand there and let it waft over you, you'll be made well they say...

Ginza...the Young Tower Clock, a sculpture by Taro Okamoto...

More of Ginza..

At the MoMA store in the fascinating SONY Experience building, Ginza. This is a must- visit destination especially if you have kids or are still a kid...

The iStore in Ginza, designed by the firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson...the inside is average except for the glass elevators but the outside is fabulous...