Tokyo, March 16, 2026

Today we arrived at the port of Tokyo (Harumi-Futō). It is overcast, somewhat windy, and about 10°C. Nonetheless, we took the first shuttle bus to the main station (Marunouchi).

The first impression of the city: a concrete jungle. However, as we walked from the station to the Imperial Palace and the gardens, we noticed some greenery, trees, and water everywhere. The trees, however, are mostly pruned into shapes, either in various forms or more like pillars.

Interestingly, there are quite a few cyclists, and many of them are cargo bikes with children on them. There are also clearly marked bike lanes in most places (some on the street, some on sidewalks when they are wide enough).

The grounds and gardens around the Imperial Palace are vast. However, like Central Park in New York, they are cut through by roads. On Mondays, like today, the gardens and grounds in the inner area are closed. It's amusing that even in the outer gardens, jogging is not allowed. Probably not on the roads that run through the park areas either. There are, however, sleeping homeless people, although that is also prohibited.

After visiting the Imperial Palace, we went to the Cat Temple ‘Gotoku-ji’. It is a Japanese Buddhist temple dedicated to cats. According to legend, the waving cats (Maneki Neko) originated here. One cat is said to have beckoned a lord away from a tree, which was immediately struck by lightning. Out of gratitude, he had the existing temple renovated. The story spread, and the people began to gift waving cats to the temple as offerings.

The temple is quite far from the city center. It was fascinating to walk through this residential neighborhood with small houses. Everything is tidy, clean, and well-maintained.

... work in progress ...