Japanese Gardens: Part Ni

With an amazingly clear fall sky overhead, we struck out last Monday for a couple of nearby gardens: Koishikawa Korakuen and Rikugien. Both are old -- Koishikawa Korakuen was originally part of a feudal residence built in 1629 and Rikugien was created in 1702 by the shogun at the time -- and neither disappointed. They're both pond-gardens with paths throughout. Koishikawa Korakuen is right next to an amusement park, and we could hear folks on the roller-coaster screaming their heads off. It didn't really matter, though, because the place was simply beautiful. The first five pictures are from Koishikawa Korakuen and the rest are from Rikugien. Tokyo is coming through with lots of green space -- more than we expected. These were as nice as any gardens we've seen so far. As for the random picture of the girl with the blue hands, it's from an indigo-dying outfit right outside of Rikugien. She invited us in and explained a bit about the process. She said we could come back for a class, and we just might. I've had my eyes out for indigo-dying shops but this was the first one I've seen so far. That's all for now!