Journeys›Photograph

Tokyo Gardens and Skylines in July

·Minato, Japan·#japan#summer#cityscape#tokyo#travel-photography#imperial-palace
A pond with lily pads surrounded by lush green trees and a flowering tree with pink blossoms, with buildings in the background.

Last day in Tokyo, so the route stayed central. Started in the gardens near the Imperial Palace, where the crepe myrtles were in full pink bloom over a pond half-covered in lily pads, office towers sticking up over the treeline behind everything — you never quite forget where you are.

From there, the outer gates of the palace. The moat had gone green with duckweed in the July heat, and the old stone walls run right down into it, black volcanic rock under whitewashed guard towers. A tent was set up at Sakuradamon for whatever screening they do at the entrance, and a line of people filed through under the heavy wooden gate.

Ended up above it all in the afternoon, on an observation deck in Roppongi looking straight down at Tokyo Tower — 332.9 meters, built in 1958, painted red and white because aviation rules require it, though the Eiffel Tower resemblance is no accident. It was the tallest thing in Japan until Skytree came along. From up there the bay was visible past the towers, and Tokyo just kept going in every direction until it hazed out.

A man photographs a large Japanese building with stone walls and a gate, surrounded by green trees and a moat under a cloudy sky.A white, traditional Japanese building on a stone wall overlooks a plant-filled moat, with other buildings and trees under a cloudy sky.A traditional Japanese building and gate with stone walls next to a moat covered in green plants, under a blue sky with clouds.A white Japanese building and gate on a stone wall by a moat, with three people, trees, and a cloudy sky.The red and white Tokyo Tower rises above a dense cityscape filled with numerous buildings under a cloudy sky.The red and white Tokyo Tower stands prominently amidst a sprawling cityscape of numerous buildings under a partly cloudy sky.Panoramic view of a dense city with the red Tokyo Tower, extending to a distant bay under a blue sky.High-angle view of a vast urban landscape featuring a red tower, numerous buildings, and a distant bay.

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