Saturday 4th March
The dinner fiasco had left me unable and unwilling to get up early (yes, I was that annoyed) so we had a later start and in an attempt to rectify the situation (because the Japanese waiter giving me the wrong meal was obviously Rory’s fault) he did what any Gina-whisperer would do – he took me to the Zoo but not before stopping at the bakery to buy me a muffin and a literal loaf of bread.
The dinner fiasco had left me unable and unwilling to get up early (yes, I was that annoyed) so we had a later start and in an attempt to rectify the situation (because the Japanese waiter giving me the wrong meal was obviously Rory’s fault) he did what any Gina-whisperer would do – he took me to the Zoo but not before stopping at the bakery to buy me a muffin and a literal loaf of bread.
Feeling much happier we explored Ueno park before going to Japan’s first zoo! We didn’t know much about the zoo before we visited but if we had, we probably would have skipped it! I struggle with the morality of visiting a zoo, given that the animals are in cages purely for human enjoyment, however, there are a lot of zoos that focus heavily on conservation and where the animals are treated very well. Unfortunately, Ueno Zoo doesn’t seem to be one of them. We both noticed that the enclosures were small and contained very little to stimulate the animals. Some were basic concrete cages with nothing more than a perch. We did persevere and there were some exhibits that were slightly better – we got pretty close to a polar bear and saw a Kingfisher catch his lunch – but overall, it wasn’t great and I would advise against visiting in future!
From here we did something a bit more traditional and we went to Asakusa. The district is famous for the Senso-ji temple and I was immediately I was stuck by the crowds. I realise that it was a Saturday but the throngs of people meant that we had a quick look at the temple but didn’t hang about! I did pick up a few souvenirs – most of which were probably overpriced and actually made in China – and despite the masses of people, we did enjoy the market area. If we had more time we probably would have done some more exploring but we felt that we made the most of our time in Asakusa!
After another day of lots of walking we decided to have an early dinner. Once again we hadn’t researched where to go, so after looking at a few restaurants near the hotel we settled on a very basic but busy local restaurant. Gyoza, ramen, chicken and a pork dish all for under £15 – absolute bargain and even better than the price was that the food was actually delicious!
Happy to have had some more delicious Japanese food we went back to the hotel and spend the evening enjoying the view! It is our final night in Japan and I’m glad we’re saying goodbye in such an amazing setting. Being able to wake up and catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji has been so amazing and has only been topped by watching the sun set as the lights of the city come to life. It’s a view I wouldn’t grow tired of and one I know I’ll miss!
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