Today was a full day spent site seeing all around Tokyo. We visited a Shinto shrine and got to see the outside of the Imperial Palace. There was a lot of walking involved. My very favorite part of the day was the "box lunch." Our paperwork said that we would be having a box lunch at an historic old hotel and would be able to stroll through the beautiful old woods adjacent to the hotel after we ate. It sounded nice but not wildly exciting.
Things started getting interesting when we were led off the bus and into an elegant hotel, lavishly decorated inside. Crystal chandeliers all over the place. We then took five long escalator rides down to a lovely large dining room, round tables for eight, set with linen and silverware, and at each place a black wooden box about 10 inches square and three inches deep. When we opened the boxes we discovered that the inside was split into quarters and in each section there was a little china dish holding some delicious tidbit. We had fish, beef, rice and veggies in tasty sauces or brine. Then there was 'Ancient rice with sesame' and a Japanese sweet of the day.
I have never had such an elegant box lunch. As we were leaving the hotel we watched a wedding couple having their pictures taken. Evidently they have lots of weddings there. The bride's train cascaded down five steps of an awesome staircase.
If I ever come back to Tokyo I will stay downtown at the Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo.
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