The Tower and the Grave(yard).

Saturday was my first semi-sightseeing day. It wasn't my plan to do what I did, but the ramblin' spirit came down, so I rambled. After spying on that traditional wedding, I figured take a walk. It wasn't supposed to rain until evening, I had on a light jacket, a cap and my navigation equipment. As prepared as I needed to be. Now, a little voice did say, "Go get the damn umbrella," but I didn't listen.

The tower, Tokyo Tower, as you saw, is very close to the hotel, so I made that my goal. If I am doing a walkabout, I can't walk in a straight line to save my life. It took a while to get there. The skies also became quite gray, sparking a long talk with myself that was full of recrimination. At the tower there was a dance troupe. You can read on their banner in the photo, that they have something to do with a coal mine. That also explains the enviable outfit of one of the dancers. The tower is cool, to the extent that being in a tower is cool; you can see for miles and miles.

What you can also see are lots of cemeteries that you might not otherwise know are there. Seems like this city is lousy with cemeteries. I gravitate to cemeteries when I am in cities I don't know. There is one very close to IHJ. I tried to walk in but was kindly told in about three words I didn't understand to get lost. The guy's meaning was clear though.

Looking west from the tower, I decided my route home. On looking south, I decided I had better investigate that intriguing park just below me. It turned out to be Shib-Onshi Goen. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiba_Park) That diversion messed with my planned route home. Figuring I could only be a little ways south of the route I was planning, I couldn't get too far off. It is a good thing I had the navigating equipment - a GPS, two iPod Touch's and a pocket wi-fi. Tokyo was not designed for you to walk in a straight line. Tokyo was designed for you to get lost. Even with all of that kit, it can take an hour to navigate to a destination that is really a 15 minute walk. It has happened several times; it happened yesterday. So far, I haven't had to be anyplace in a hurry.

Yes, I got caught in the rain. It never got too heavy or lasted too long and my jacket has a hood. I made it to IHJ eventually, but dog tired. I was dog tired.