Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

What I am about to say may come as a shock.

Tokyo is not very pretty.  There- I said it.  There's no taking it back.  The city is a whole bunch of large skyscrapers.  Some cities of the world sweep you off your feet with their good looks (I'm looking at you Paris).  Don't get me wrong- Tokyo is an amazing city.  It's clean, modern, and extremely unique.  But pretty?  Not so much.  Tokyo looks best at night, when you can't see all the gray of the dull concrete.  The bright lights of all the ads give everything a festive look.  Like most people in Adams Morgan bars, Tokyo looks best in the dark.  

But yesterday, I found a whole lot of pretty- right in Shinjuku.  Shinjuku is famous for its red light district.  The station is probably the craziest one I've been to, and the amount of people passing out ads for new cosmetics or cat cafes are endless.  I've been several times and never seen much that took my breath away.

Thank goodness for the Filipinos!  The Filipinos planned a potluck picnic for Friday's lunch.  We headed to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden to feast on tinola, adobo, and a whole lotta rice (with spoons of course).  The food was obviously delicious, but I was taken aback by the natural beauty of the park.   

Here is some of what I saw:

Looking up at the sky through the trees

An unusual plant in the French Rose Garden

Gorgeous fall leaves just over the pond

A walkway towards the traditional Japanese garden

There was so much beauty all around me.  I took 71 pictures just on my phone!  It was such an amazing day.  That morning, we woke up to pouring rain beating down on the balcony.  After a few hours, the sun came out and it ended up being 72 degrees.  In December!  I know you are jealous back at home.  It was December 3rd, and I was outside with no coat, smelling the roses.  Literally.

It turns out Shinjuku is quite beautiful, if you can just manage to walk a bit past the crazy.  Don't worry- it's worth the 200 yen entrance fee.  Now you KNOW you're not in DC anymore when you pay to go into a National park.

Thanks for a wonderful lunch and a beautiful day!  I'll be back in the spring for the cherry blossoms.