The last day in Japan

Our flight home was delayed - actually Jetstar cancelled it, probably because it was underbooked, and put us on a Qantas flight about 12 hours later instead. So this last Tokyo day was a bonus day out in the city.



We decided to explore Ueno, in the Taito district of Tokyo.



In Ueno Park we spent some time wandering around Shinobazu Pond. Yes, the photo above is actually of a pond.



My sister stopped to watch a magic show. This was just at the start; he quickly drew in a much bigger crowd. Just along from here there was also a group of artists painting and sketching the pond.



There are lots of turtles in the pond! We spent ages watching them hanging out on their comfy logs.



Then we visited the nearby small, excellent Shitamachi Museum. An English speaking guide showed us around. One of the things I remember the guide talking about was religion in Japan and how many people adopt or practice to some extent both Shinto and Buddhist beliefs (or at least ceremonies and rituals for different occasions). The museum preserves a little bit of old Tokyo tenement life and you can walk into the various shops and rooms. Upstairs there was a more typical exhibition space as well.






We had a grill-your-own kind of lunch in this casual restaurant with awesome squid art painted on the wall. Then it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready to leave for the airport.