This morning I didn't have a plan but I wanted to see some more Sakura... So... off to Ueno Park which is nicely seated on the Keisei line which I take into Tokyo anyways.
[Forgot that in the entry for yesterday and unfortunately do not have pic. But in my quest to test all staple anime foods I bought filled breadrolls yesterday. Man... they are good. They are so good in fact, that all german bakers watering their ready made industrial mixtures should be ashamed. very ashamed. The bread is soft, fluffy, full flavoured and the fillings compliment that. /rant]
After leaving Ueno station (one of the bigger in Tokyo alongside Shinjuku, Shibuya and Tokyo proper) it is only a few steps to reach the park. In there is a lake with a temple on an island which caught my eye.
Drawing nearer the smell of freshly charcoal grilled dead animals got overwhelming and drooling I started to hunt my breakfast. Caught some clams and Octopussies!
After sacrificing the little Cthulhus on the altar of my gluttony accompanied by an ice cold coffee from a vending machine (Really, we need those in Germany. I cannot imagine to live without them...)
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| Actually tasted like coffee. Not too shabby. |
Before I show the big temple now, let's go back a step into Ueno station and admire this shrine to the manga deities. May they never be forgotten!
Ahem.... Back on track.
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| That's the first sight when you come from Keisei-Ueno station |
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| Wide angle shots and their weird perspectives... |
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Large incense burner. Smelled really nice and people smoked themselves and their children.
For better preservation I assume. |
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| Giant Bonsai, but Bonsai nonetheless. |
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| And the complimentary Shinto shrine. |
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| This is the alley up to the temple with all the food stalls left and right. |
On my search for Ueno Park proper I suddenly stumbled over this.
And spontaneously decided that the last time I was in a zoo is too long ago and entered. Now you all know zoos, thatswhy I won't post all the animal pics. Just a few.
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| A sea eagle. |
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| A bird with a moustache. A moustache! |
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| A giraffe competing against a skyscraper. And losing. |
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| An ice bear. I thought the crowd here was big.... |
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| This is about half of the line for the big Pandas. They really love Pandas. Oh yes. |
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| This golden pavillon was also in the zoo. Just looks beautiful. |
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| This is how you market zoo events for kids! |
Leaving the zoo for the park at last, I found the Sakura Highway. Everywhere were people of all ages and standings sitting under the cherry trees, drinking sake, chatting, eating and having fun.
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| Found it! The only pink sakura in a sea of white! |
I trotted to the JR Ueno station and again spontaneously decided I wanted to go to Odaiba. There is a giant Ferris wheel there, a life size Gundam statue and a copy of Madame Liberty. The travel with the monorail there is the best though. The following are all snapshots through the window with my mobile. Order may be off, since blogger has an abysmal image management.
After arrival there she was. Madame Liberty with a TOTALLY shady face.
I made a stupid decision then. Instead of doing anything fun or interesting. I visited Aqua City since the name sounded nice. Like splashing and aquariums.... Yeah, no. Just a giant shopping and eating mall. After that I was tired enough to go home and wanted to take a USO (unidentified swimming object) from the Tokyo bay up the Sumida river to Asakusa. Of course I bought the wrong ticket and had to wait an hour. Oh well, time for a beer at last.
The direct line shuttle boats look like this.
and while lazing around in the slowly setting sun I took some more pics of the scenery.
Through the shuttle windows taking pics was not really possible. So I didn't, relaxed and enjoyed the river ride up to Asakusa. And there I saw it. The official marketing star of the 2020 olympics. A golden sperm...
It's getting late morning and room service wants in. So I skip the story of my 2 hour Odyssey through Tokyo public transport, which resulted from my mobile wifi running empty on battery and this killing google maps and hyperdia, my trusty guides through Tokyo. I walked a lot of backalleys in search of virtually invisible Subway entrances, took a lot of stairs (Japan seems to think escalators are for pussies only) and a lot of right turns I thought were wrong and vice versa and I manages to get into the last half hour of the rush hour with cramped trains and lots of waiting. But I managed. Another quest solved an another level gained!
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