Monday in Tokyo took us to dizzying tourist heights, but not literally this time. Green, expansive Ueno Park was Tokyo’s first public park and is home to the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, the National Science Museum, the Ueno Royal Museum, the Shitamachi Folklife Museum, Ueno Zoo, Shinobazu Pond, two temples…plus numerous statues, fountains, cafes, and wooded walkways. (And a large portion of Tokyo’s homeless population.)
Temple sketchin'...
Police box or Transformer?
I’d had my swan boat fix in Fujieda, so we continued on through a fun little installation…
Then, even when presented with multiple museum options in Ueno, we eventually decided to return to Tokyo’s central station and visit the Museum of Modern Art, located near the Imperial Palace. The museum was between special exhibitions, but the permanent collection was all right. The complex was also home to the National Film Center, but we didn't get to view anything before the place closed for the day.
The real reason Davin voted for this museum, I believe, was because it brought us back to the Palace area, an easy walk north from which is the Omotesando Sporting Goods District—it’s even denoted on maps—a dense cluster of multi-level megastores selling equipment for every endeavor imaginable. My roommate is running the Tokyo Marathon in February, you see, so he was all for picking up a few needed items.
We were coaxed by coupons into a tiny Indian restaurant for curry, garlic naan, and mango lassis—a fine finale. Shizuoka seemed especially small that night, as we walked home in the quiet dark.
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