Ueno Park

Yesterday, I went to Ueno Park in Tokyo. It's a very big park, just outside Ueno Station. The first time I was there was in 2007. The area that is Ueno Park was originally Kan'eiji Temple. That was destroyed during the Meiji Restoration. The land for the park was granted in 1924. The National Museum, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and several other museums are there. There is also a Zoo.

I went there to see an exhibit at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum called "Morris to Mingei". I'm a big fan of arts and crafts style, and art nouveau, as well as Japanese art. William Morris was part of the beginning of the English arts and crafts movement.

When I got to Tokyo, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. The little thermometer I have hanging on my purse indicated 80 degrees at one point during the day.

First, I went to Tokyo station. Maruzen bookstore is one of the few places that open at 9:00 in the morning, and they have a large English book section. Maruzen is on the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station. That's the side that looks like the original station.

En route, I saw this on the side of an ice cream vending machine.













Maruzen had a display of cat art. While it was all very cute stuff, it was priced out of my range.

















On the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station, is the Yaesu Book Center. I had never been there before, although the bookstore in Utsunomiya station is a branch. This one is eight stories high.

Here is a statue outside the store. Japan is like this -- old Japan and bleeding-edge technology blend seamlessly.

The foreign language (books in foreign languages, mostly English) section is small, but they had a neat series of bilingual business books.

Back at Ueno station, I found a very long escalator.














Here is the Panda Bridge between Ueno Station and Ueno Park. There is a very large Panda statue just outside the station exit there. It's a good landmark if you use the coin lockers, like I did.

There are homeless people living in Ueno park, and I couln't always distinguish between the men who were retired and enjoying the weather, the ones who were recovering from the night before, and the ones who lived there.

In Ueno Park, here is the National Museum. I visited here in 2007. It's a very nice museum, especially if you like Japanese art and history.













There are all kinds of performing artists in the park. This guy was pretty good.













Here is the TokyoMetropolitan Art Museum.












Of course, I couldn't take pictures of the exhibit. Morris' things are more neo-gothic, in my opinion. He worked with textiles and furniture and anyone who wanted to decorate a house for D&D would enjoy his stuff. I wouldn't mind a room of it, but I like the later craftsman style.
After I left the exhibit, I saw and exhibit of bonsai trees. Most bonsai are not as small as the ones you can buy at Target.

Here is a cute umbrella sculpture.








There are signs in the park warning not to feed the birds or cats. There are also people in the park who do just that. I found a statue, and before I could take a picture of it, I saw a cute black and white cat. It was shy, but a man (who the cat obviously knew) held the cat for me to take its picture. I had some cat treats in my purse and was able to buy some photo ops. But there was another man who knew what this kitty really liked -- cheese. He even gave me some to feed the cat.

Note: not only is it legal to drink in the park, but you can buy beer there as well. It was warm enough to enjoy a nice cool one.











A crow.




































Here is the statue.










Here is another kitty.












Here are several torii gates.









Some trees were blooming already. I think they are plum blossoms.


































There is a little island in a lake in the park with a Benzaiten shrine. Benzaiten is the Japanese version of the Hindu goddess Sarasvati. She is the goddess of music and eloquence, and also one of the Seven Lucky Gods.













Ducks!












Here is the marshy lake in the middle of the city.












All in all, it was a very nice day. I even got home at a reasonable hour!