We visited Asakusa Neko-en rescue cat cafe near our house before going to the Sumida aquarium. Half the cats were around 15 or 16 years old and were the original cats from when the place opened. The other half were quite young and available for adoption. The person who ran the place told us that over 15 years she has had 400 cats through the place that were adopted to new homes.

Next stop was Sumida aquarium inside Tokyo Sky Tree.

My camera does not do a good job taking photos through glass but I like these ones from Sumida Aquarium. There were so many tanks of beautiful fish, fresh water and ocean.

If you like visiting aquariums, there are a few pictures of the COEX aquarium in Seoul in this post.

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Vending machines are everywhere in Tokyo: every street corner, every dark alleyway, every train station, every parking lot. Everywhere. Sometimes they stand alone, sometimes they are in pairs, sometimes they are in gangs of three and sometimes a whole row of them line up on one side of the street and watch you go by.

There is something animate about them. After I photograph them, I remember them. When I see them again, I recognize them..it’s like that feeling of bumping into someone you have met somewhere before. They remind me of jukeboxes a little. You have a relationship with them, an agreement…you give them your coins, push the right buttons and the machine gives you what you want. At night, their bright paint and little blinking lights entice you from afar.

“How about a beer?” they ask.

Or, in their quiet understanding way they remark: “I bet you could use a cigarette right now.”

I am going to miss them.

boop beep boop beep ding-ding-ding-ding-ding

Good night my friends..

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Japanese convenience stores are very different from their North American counterparts. On top of things like toilet paper, cup noodles and soda, they also have an enormous variety of snacks, fully cooked meals, meal prep kits to take home, and every drink you can imagine. Last time I was at 7-Eleven I even noticed plastic wrapped dress shirts and neckties in case you need one in a hurry. Underwear too! There is usually a place to sit down to eat as well as a clean public washroom. Free Wifi and foreign card ATMs are also available. Amazing. I photographed all the stores at night because I like the way their incandescent glow washes over the street and backlights the people going in and out.

There is so much more to these places….they have EVERYTHING (except deodorant). The novelty and variety of the snacks alone is astonishing. They have no equal elsewhere.

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