I went to Ueno Park to look for cherry blossoms but I was too early. There were only one or two plum trees with flowers so far. So instead I walked through the Ueno Zoo and, as usual in the afternoon, most of the animals were hiding or asleep. It was still fun to watch all the little kids running around in their cute uniforms. They were just happy to be outside in the sun. And so was I.

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Here is a link to the Ueno Zoo website in English.

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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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