25.11.21 - Ueno

Today is our first full day in Ueno and we're getting a pretty slow start. But no biggy. We have a longer time in the Tokyo area so don't feel rushed to see and do all the things right away.

We decide to explore our neighborhood today and walk up to Ueno Park, a 10- minute walk. I know, everything is so far away. The park is quite expansive and includes multiple museums from science to art, as well as the Ueno Zoo! I'm a sucker for visiting zoos. But we skip this...for now.

Here's a bunch of pictures of pretty trees because...it's a park. And also because the gingko trees are beautiful when they change color.

Back from our exploration, we make a pit stop at a Dean & Deluca around the corner from our lodging. It's alright, the side dishes of the "set" is better than the main dish. But wouldn't know unless you tried!

After lunch we decide to return to Ueno Park to visit the zoo. The entrance fee is ¥600 for adults and ¥300 for seniors - that's less than $4 for me and less than $2 for each of the parents. For comparison, adult admission to Honolulu Zoo is $21. Amazing.

The zoo seems to go on and on, much larger than we were expecting. Especially since it sits within a park. One thing we observed walking around is how much seating they have. So much seating. The park is fairly quiet while we're here, although you get pockets of craziness when animals are out or get fed and everyone wants to watch. So we missed seeing the Sumatran tiger because it was a little nutso with people. We didn't end up seeing the pandas, Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao, either. There was quite a queue to view them so we decided to see the rest of the animals instead.

I only took pictures of the pygmy hippo and his mama, the full size hippo and bison. Yeah...don't know what I was thinking, but got no pictures of anything else. Other than gingko, obviously.

Towards the end of our visit, we stumbled upon a pagoda they have in the zoo. No idea if it's old or new, but pretty to see.

Walking out of the zoo and back thru the park, towards the main entrance of the park they've set up what I call "Santa's Village" with a row of food and drink stalls lining both sides of the gathering area and twinkling lights in the trees. Plus photo op area with Santa. The lights are so fun when it's early evening and they're all lit up. Everywhere we go there seems to be something Christmas-y, whether it's the music or actual decorations. Clearly Japan is getting into the spirit early.

After a brief siesta to rest the feet which have walked nearly 20,000 steps today, we walk over to Egg Baby Cafe for dinner. It's a long distance walk of 2 minutes. Seriously. We can't get over how convenient our lodging is.

The menu at Egg Baby is very simple - salad, sandwich, pasta or toast. And everything has eggs. We choose the sandwich, carbonara pasta and salad. All are pretty good, but nothing so amazing we feel the need to go back. The atmosphere is great though, very chill. Couldn't think of another adjective, but chill fits the bill. The restaurant is located underneath and above the train lines so every once on a while you feel the rumbling of the train. It's very matrix-esque, especially with the industrial-style interior. The three plates of food plus a beer and matcha latte cost ¥4400, which is about $28. Pretty good for feeding three people.

Side note and helpful tip if you're traveling to Japan: bring a handkerchief. Or small hand towel. Whatever will fit in your day bag. Most public restrooms will not have paper towels or hand dryers. It's nice to have a handy dandy handkerchief to dry the hands.

Sayonara!