A Shopping Spree - Day 6

Today we got up bright and early (meaning like 8 o' clock) to go to Ueno Park. We quickly visited a shrine, and then went to the National Museum of Nature and Science.

It was pretty busy since there were a lot of school groups on field trips. It was really interesting (Of course I would have preferred it to be less busy.)

The first exhibit was talking about the evolution of Earth, animals, and humans. They had big screens around the whole room, showcasing this, and each side of the room talks about a different thing.

The images and drawings were really cute, and even without words, I even understood it, even if it was in Japanese.

The next exhibit was about animals. It was hard to know exactly what they were taking about since we couldn't read the signs.

The next section was also about animals, but more about the species and various sizes of things.

The last animal display was a large glass 'room' filled with many animals raging from big to small.

It was cool until we found out that...

All these animals were hunted, by some guy. 😥😥😥. And worst part is, is that most of them were living a happy life, an some of them were even endangered.

Hunters/poachers claim they are 'helping wildlife', by capturing them and 'learning about them'. I don't think that makes much sense.

We were too sad, and we had to leave.

We took a snack break on the rooftop garden/patio. There were a lot of herbs growing there, and bees, and benches. There was also a great view of the Ueno Park, and the city.

We sat on some benches and ate a snack, like chips, jelly, and rice crackers from the plane.

Since that is not very filling, we had to finish looking at the museum, and then go for lunch.

The basement levels of the building were talking about dinosaurs and rocks.

Amelia and Rita were getting bored and hungry, so Marcus and Steve finished looking, while the rest enjoyed the gift shop. Amelia got a little Dumbo octopus (think a small octopus, that is orange or tangerine orange, and has little ears. They live in the deep zone) keychain, since she likes them.

After the museum, we were very hungry at that point, so we went to have ramen.

The place that we went to was a popular place, meaning we had to line up. But that was okay because it was worth it in the end.

Like yesterday, the place is practically fully automated, besides the cooks. You first fill in a sheet when in line, that tells you texture of noodles, and toppings, basically modifications. Then you get a ticket from a vending machine, which assigns you your seating, and and generally what you are eating.

Each seat is like a stall; there is a little window into the kitchen, and all the seats are in rows along the kitchen.

Though you are sitting next to somebody, there is a little cubby around you. The wall to the cubby can open and close, if you are sitting with someone you know.

There is also a little curtain that faces the kitchen, and the staff roll it down when you are eating for privacy.

You hand the ticket to the kitchen staff through the window, and then they bring you your food, when it's ready.

This place is really efficient, and you get your food fast. It's more about the food and not the socialization.

After lunch we took the train to Ginza. We went to Itoya, where Amelia bought some washi tape and stickers to decorate her stamp book and Rita got a new X-acto knife, since ours at home is old.

We then wanted to go to a souffle pancake place, called A Happy Pancake but there was a wait. So we went to Uniqlo to pass time.

Turns out Uniqlo is busy, people eat pancakes faster than you'd think, and escalators are slow. There were 14 people on line for pancakes ahead of us, and so we thought that was plenty of time. But that number was decreasing fast. Rita got some of the stuff she was looking for, and we quickly rushed back.

We made it in the nick of time.

The pancakes itself were delicious. We got two seasonal fruit pancakes and one Japanese chestnut Carmel macchiato.

It was really cool to see them make with with such skill, and each one was perfectly cooked.

Amelia, Marcus, and Rita all shared the two sets of pancakes, and Steve ate a whole plate to himself!

After we went to Toy Park, a huge toy store with 5 floors!

Amelia got these guys:

They are mini bean bag animals.

Marcus got another tomica (a car), metal Shinkansen train, and a track that is remote controlled.

Dinner was a traditional tempura place, and had traditional Japanese seating.

We thought it was too much food, but it turned out to be just right. It was really yummy.

After that, we just went back to the airbnb and spent our last night here...🥹