Japan Trip - Day 8

It is Day 8 and we are going to the zoo!

It is the first time I’m using the subway in Tokyo and also the Pasmo card. The Pasmo card is really sweet to use. Just pass it over the scanner at the gate and it automatically deducts from the total on the card. Yeah, I know… it’s not that interesting to other people but I never had one before so it’s very cool to me. (hehe) I actually find the subway easier to use than in Osaka except it is busier than in Osaka. Tokyo at all times of the day is really busy for the major lines (the Chiyoda, Hibiya, Marunouchi, and Ginza lines are busy but the Tozai line wasn’t too bad). The ride to the Ueno zoo only took about 25 minutes.

When we were buying the tickets at the entrance, there were signs saying that Ling Ling, the giant panda, passed away in 2008. I was shocked! No panda?!? Lonely Planet, a guidebook on Japan, had panda mentioned in the book. I was so saddened about the news. :(

Nonetheless we had a great time at the zoo.

The elephants were so huge and the young elephant was swimming in the pool. The adolescent spider monkey was making a racket in his area, swinging and showing off his acrobat skills. We came upon feeding time at the vultures area. The king vulture was so dominant. He was fighting over the raw liver and was winning. The bats were so cute. They are related to the fruit bat so they were small. The gorillas were the main attraction at the zoo. The male gorilla was showing off to the visitors. He tapped on the window to draw attention to himself and the pregnant female gorilla was eating eggplant, onion, and carrots. The gorillas were given water bottles and drank from them as people would. It was really adorable when they did that. :)

There were two sections to the zoo. It took several hours to walk through the first section so we didn’t have time to go through the second section properly. There was a monorail that connects the two sections together but it already left by the time we reached the station gate. Walking towards the second section, we passed by a sign which read “Porcupine”. All I saw initially were large trees. My sister was walking in front of me and I glanced upwards briefly. I spotted a large porcupine hanging from a branch. I yelled out to my sister, “Come back here! You just walked past a porcupine!” I must have been loud because the porcupine woke up from his slumber, looked at me, yawned, and hid his head to sleep again. It was so cute!!!! We took photos of the porcupine front and back. He had a cute tail and funny legs from the back view. ;p The only area of the second section we went to was the petting zoo. It had these animals running around freely: a potbelly pig, chickens, roosters, and goats.

Before we left the zoo, we stopped by a souvenir shop to purchase some goods. Then we ate lunch at a restaurant in an alley along the subway station. I ate fried rice and it was delicious, I told the owner of the shop that. She was so pleased that she told the cook what I thought of it. She asked us where we were from and we thanked her for helping us order from the ticket vending machine. Truly, the rice was really tasty! :)

Afterwards, while my travel mates were in a department store, I went to a closeby store "Yamashiroya" which sold games, anime, toys, and electronics. There was so much that I want to purchase but I only bought some souvenirs for friends and co-workers such as bath sponges in the shape of a donut and toast, jelly bean bath soap, and other odd ball items. There were some cool-looking iPod lego-style players and weird music headphones. If I had more time and money, I would love to shop there.

There was still some time to kill in the day before night falls, so we took the subway to Shibuya. I wasn’t too keen to go there since I am not interested in shopping areas too much but I was a bit curious about the district. We got off the wrong exit from the subway station and ended up in a gloomy area instead of the shopping district.

Because we were tired from today’s excursion, we walked around a bit and ate at a noodle place. There was a waiter who helped us order from the ticket vending machine. As we were eating our food, I showed my sister the “Gatsby” facial powder sheets I bought in Osaka. I said to my sister, “This is great! It works so well. I got to buy more before I leave. And look!” I showed her the small print. “It’s made in Japan!” She was smiling oddly and said that the waiter understood me. I glanced over at the waiter (the same one who helped us order the tickets) and his head was down but he was laughing. (boy, was I embarrassed… behaving like a typical tourist… and he was kind of cute too…)

By the way, the “Gatsby” sheets were amazing as they absorb all the sweat from your face, keeping you dry, and they are also deodorized (scented). I gave one package to my brother who said it would’ve come handy a month ago when he was in Peru backpacking. ;p

We took the subway back to our hotel in Akasaka and as we were walking through the subway terminal, the ceiling above us darkened and lit up. The ceiling had the astrological signs all painted across the top. It shimmered and was so beautiful to look at. I took some photos of the ceiling the next night. It is a shame that it was only us looking at the computerized painting. It seemed that no one else was stopping to view it. :( Perhaps, they locals see it everyday so they were used to it? Or maybe everyone is too busy to stop and “smell the roses”?

For tomorrow, we decided to split up and do our own thing but then get together in the evening at the hotel to visit Tokyo Tower. Though I’m not too particular about visiting the tower, it is a landmark of Tokyo that seems to attract a lot of tourists, so I would like to visit there before I leave Japan. :) I can't wait to go to Akibahara for anime and electronics!