Day 5- 3/9/11: Ueno & Mitaka

Konbanwa! Got back to our hotel a little while ago and boy are we tired! Managed to get through the "rush hour" on the subway/train rides today and boy was that crazy! I literally had to suck my butt in so it would fit into the train before the door closed on me!! Anyway, we did mostly sightseeing today and started off at Ueno Park. I really liked it here- very peaceful and different from the rest of Tokyo. This is the place to go when cherry blossoms are blooming- the park is covered with trees, so I'm sure it must be beautiful. Went to the Toshogu Shrine first, which is right next to the Ueno Zoo. Paul is demonstrating showing his respect to the shrine by bowing, offering, and ringing the bell, etc. We also bought this wood thing that I'm holding, where you write your wishes and hang it up at the shrine. We lucked out and even saw some cherry blossoms blooming! Woo hoo! Check that off my list! After strolling through the park, Paul wanted to see the National Science Museum. This photo shows the evolution of Paul! It was funny- they actually had an empty space where you could go and be the next in the evolution line. At least that's what we think it said... none of the volunteers stopped us, so we entertained ourselves by taking pictures of the Paul exhibit! After all that sightseeing, we got some lunch and then headed towards Ameyokocho. It was fun to look at all the vendors- kinda like a cross between farmers market and the swap meet, except everyone is way more aggressive. This photo doesn't show how crowded the street was even during mid-day. Does anyone work around here? I just had to take this photo as we passed by. I don't know what it is exactly, but its huge! Paul thinks its dried squid. One of the reasons I liked Ueno was all their panda and cherry blossom themed items. So cute! This poster was on a pillar at the train station. Couldn't resist getting this panda cookie. They also had panda candy, panda ampan, and what looked like Panda manapua. After Ueno, we headed to Mitaka to get to the Studio Ghibli where Hayao Miyazaki's studio is located. A nice man helped us get there and even caught up to us on his bike later to make sure we knew where to turn. He was so nice- reminded me of my friend's dad. We gave him some mac nuts to thank him for his help. Look who was at the gate to greet us! It's my neighbor Totoro! I don't have much more photos since we were not supposed to take pictures inside the museum. Inside we watched a cartoon about the Egg Princess and Mr. Dough. It was so cute I bought some stuff with the egg princess on it. She looks like humpty dumpty in a dress. The exhibits were trippy! I still can't wrap my brain on how they did some of them- you gotta see it for yourself if you ever go to Japan. Oh yah- they also had a catbus! Too bad it was only for little ones, otherwise Paul and I would have rode on it for sure! Too bad nekobasu couldn't take us back to our hotel!