Imperial Palace

The area around Tokyo station is vastly different to the bright lights and billboards of Shinjuku. There is not a single billboard or poster to be seen in what I guess is the main business district. A short walk from Tokyo station is the Imperial Palace. Entry into the east garden is free, but you don’t get to see the Palace. The gardens are fantastic and a popular weekend picnic spot for locals. We are starting to feel like the only foreigners in Tokyo. After visiting the palace gardens we headed back to Tokyo Station and on the way found the subway line. After about a 1km walk we were informed our JR rail pass wasn’t valid on subways not run by JR Rail. After another 1km walk under Tokyo the tunnel opened up into a huge underground shopping mall. This mall is part of Tokyo station and the first vending machine we saw vended tshirts. If only we found this machine 24 hours earlier while waiting for our luggage.