**Day 31 - Sydney to Home

Draft

**Day 30 - Tokyo (Ginza), Haneda to Sydney

Draft

Day 29 - Tokyo (Odaiba Island, Ueno Zoo and Akihabara)

Today was our last full-day in Japan, so we decided to catch up on a couple of places for a revisit. We needed to head out by around 0945h, as Kyle needed to get something in Akihabara as soon as a store opened.

After getting ourselves ready for the day, we first headed the Akihabara, to try and get a Jacket for Kyle, that Sky had spotted the evening before. Unfortunately, the shop wasn't going to open until 1100h, and we had some other things to do. The weather today was fine, but it was so windy, we would have looked like Scott heading to the South Pole in Antarctica. We then headed to Akihabara Station then caught the train to Shimbashi Station, then we caught the Yurikamome to Odaiba Island. We specifically wanted to see the Mori Art Museum which we missed out on when we visited Odaiba Island on day 26. The Mori Building Digital Art Museum, which has grown a reputation as being a 'must-do' when visiting Tokyo. It is large-scale exhibition that allows visitors to experience a computer-generated world with the aid of  520 computers and 470 projectors. So, when we arrived early in the day, we were greeted by staff holding signs stating that there were no more tickets available for today...Bugger!

We briefly revisited some of the places we had previously, trying to get better shots, particularly of Tokyo Bay, the Rainbow Bridge and the Tokyo skyline. 

On the Yurikamome towards Odaiba Island, about to pass under the Rainbow Bridge.

Passing under the Rainbow Bridge reveals that it looks pretty 'ratty' up-close.

A Yurikamome zooming along the track on Odaiba Island.

The Tokyo Big Sight Exhibition Centre.

A beautiful Ferrari at the History Garage.

We walked past this guy again.

The Flame of Freedom Monument was donated by the City of Paris during 'France Year' (Japan) in 1998. It is covered in gold leaf and is 27 metres tall.

The Fuji Television Headquarters building.

The mini (1:7 scale) Statue of Liberty actually looks massive from this angle.

The beautiful Rainbow Bridge.

Probably my favourite view of the Rainbow Bridge.

The Tokyo Water Bus.

You can see the viewing windows in the Observation Deck (sphere).

We then headed back to Akihabara via Shimbashi Station for some catch-up shopping, and I even managed to get a few aircraft models.

A beautiful glass mural adorns Shimbashi Station.

Kyle and Sky headed back to the store for the jacket we'd tried to get earlier in the day, but unfortunately, it had been sold in the meantime.

Akihabara.

Beautiful autumn trees between Akihabara and Okachimachi.

After some more shopping, Maureen and I walked back to Okachimachi and to the apartment, as we needed to get a head-start on the packing and I even managed to punch out another Blog entry. 

Meanwhile, Kyle and Josh headed to Ueno Zoo. Ueno Zoo is the oldest Zoo in Japan, opening in 1882. An interesting piece of history regarding the zoo took place during WWII: In August 1943, the administrator of Tokyo, ordered that all 'wild and dangerous animals' at the zoo be killed, claiming that bombs could hit the zoo and escaping wild animals would wreak havoc in the streets of Tokyo. Requests by the staff at the zoo for a reprieve, or to evacuate the animals elsewhere, were refused. The animals were executed primarily by poisoning, strangulation or by simply placing the animals on starvation diets.

Shortly after the March 1945 bombings of Tokyo, the Japanese placed U.S. Army Air Force navigator and bombardier Ray "Hap" Halloran on display naked in a Ueno Zoo tiger cage so civilians could walk in front of the cage and view the B-29 prisoner.

The boys really enjoyed the Zoo noting that it was quite large, with a big range of animals. However, they were amazed that entry only cost 600 Yen (around AUD $7.50).

Josh at Ueno Zoo. 

Big crowds at the popular Ueno Zoo.

The Five Storied Pagoda of Kan’ei-ji.

Overlooking Shinobazu Pond.

At around 1730h, we all met up in Akihabara for dinner. This time, we revisited the Sushi Train restaurant at Yodobashi.

After dinner, Kyle and I caught the Subway to the Tokyo Solamachi (the home of the Tokyo Skytree) to look for another jacket that he had seen. With the jacket purchase made, we caught the Subway to Asakusa to the Nakamise Shopping street. Nakamise Shopping Street is a popular tourist spot featuring countless markets and stalls. It mostly specialises in local snack foods, including; Ningyo Yaki - sweet pastries filled with Red Bean, sculptured (realistic) candies, Kaminarimon Oshi - sweet puffed rice crackers, and plenty of other sweet delights. 

Noting we were still full from the Sushi Train, we headed back home to the apartment, having not tried a single sweet from Nakamise Shopping Street.

Day 28 - Tokyo (Ikebukuro, Sunshine Aquarium, Tokyo Forest, Harajuku and Shinobazu Pond)

Today we planned a quiet day which started with a nice sleep-in. However, after a while, we decided that we should head out somewhere different; Ikebukuro. Ikebukuro is a popular shopping district, particularly the Sunshine shopping mall in the Sunshine 60 building. The weather today? Terrible with drizzle for the most part.

After catching the train on the Yamanote line we arrived at Ikebukuro and proceeded to split up, with Kyle and Josh heading to the Sunshine Aquarium, with Maureen, Sky and I doing some shopping. Sunshine Aquarium is located on the top floor of the Alta Trade building in the Sunshine City area. It features Penguins, Otters, Sea Lions, Fish and all sorts of other marine animals. The boys were quite impressed with the large variety of animals and especially loved the various shows, especially the Sea Lion Christmas show which they thought was hilarious.

Maureen, Sky and I wandered aimlessly around the streets of Ikebukuro browsing the many shops and markets. We even met Pikachu! 

Sky meets Pikachu.

The streetscape around Ikebukuro. Note the tall tower in the background; it's a trash incinerator. 

This is Sunshine 60 Dori (street).

We also stopped briefly at the Higashi-Ikebukuro Central Park where there appeared to be a funeral ceremony, though it was more like a eulogy, or memorial. What was interesting was that there was a guy speaking and there were a bunch of business professionals lined in even ranks, with other family members looking on from the sides. Of course it could've been something completely different. 

Higashi-Ikebukuro Central Park. This is also known as the outdoor Cat Cafe; however, today...not a cat to be seen.

Eventually, we got hungry and settled on having lunch at Family Mart (a 7-Eleven type general store, where you can buy microwaveable food).
We had planned to eat inside the store; however, by the time we collected our microwaved food, there were no seats in the shop for us to eat at, so we settled in for lunch across the road in a park...in the rain.

Our cold, wet park bench restaurant.

Afterwards, Sky headed off on his own spending some time in Ikebukuro, then Akihabara, while Maureen and I headed back to the station and caught the train to Harajuku Station. 

Some more Ikebukuro streetscape, or fly-overscape.

We then visited Yoyogi Park, an impressive 54 Hectare forest in the middle of the greater Tokyo area. Interestingly, it is actually the site of the first powered aircraft flight in Japan. It was also the site of the Olympic Village for the 1964 Tokyo Games. Today it was very busy, and apparently, Sunday is its busiest day. 

Yoyogi Park with lots of people out for a walk.

The entrance of Yoyogi Park nearest Harajuku Station.

Within the park we saw the Meiji Shrine Temple, a shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji, who died in 1912. The temple was completed in 1920. Interestingly, adjacent the temple, are over 200 barrels of Sake wrapped in straw on one side of the path and 60 barrels of wine on the other side. Unfortunately the Sake barrels are all empty, but they do have a great deal of significance when stored near a Shinto Shrine. The Barrels of Wine are a gift from the winemakers of the Bourgogne region in France as a symbol of friendship between the two countries.

The torii marks the entrance to the Meiji Shrine.

The Meiji Shrine.

Barrels of Sake wrapped in straw.

Barrels of wine from Bourgogne, France.

Details of the various winemakers.

 The walk through the forest was quite pleasant despite the weather. 

Nearing the exit of Yoyogi Park. 

Beautiful autumn leaves. 

Walking back into Harajuku Station. You can see the crowds walking in on the left.

Maureen and I then caught the train to Ueno, for a walk around Ueno Park and Shinobazu Pond, stopping for some grilled Squid along the way.

One of the interesting design features in Ueno Station. Not great for tall people.

Kiyomizu Kannon-dō with its circle tree.

Grilled squid, one of Maureen's favourites.

Walking along Shinobazu Pond.

Shinobazunoike Bentendo.

We all met back at Okachimachi for dinner at Sukiya, a favourite Japanese restaurant chain that is great value for money. After that we headed back home for some rest on our rest day.

Meeting up with Sky at Okachimachi Station.

The walk back to the apartment.