For our final full day in the capital we visited the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. We have both visited here before on our separate trips, but going together felt right. It was possibly the hottest day I had ever experienced in the three Japanese summers I’ve had- so in hindsight such an open garden may not have been the best bet!

Hint #3: Rather than skimpy tight clothes baggy bigger clothes keep you cooler in the humidity

The Imperial palace itself cannot be visited year round, and is only open to visitors 1-2 days a year. The gardens and ruins are open to visitors all year round, and are a great way to see the beauty of Japanese gardens. One of the most interesting aspects of the garden is the old Mount Fuji viewing tower. It is crazy to think that you used to be able to view Mount Fuji from the centre of Edo! It almost seems incomprehensible now with the sky line so dominated with towers.

Hint #4 The gardens are large, on Sundays bikes can be rented to travel around more easily within the palace gardens

To finish of a day by the Imperial Palace it is possible to walk to Ginza, an up market shopping district, or to where we were staying in the Jimbocho area- to visit the Yasukuni shrine