Success and Reminiscing

Before I begin this post, please--at your earliest convenience--be sure to ask Cinnamon about the "peanut cream" she bought at the store the other day. I think she's just slightly obsessed with it. 


Moving on.

Today, which for us was Tuesday (it's currently 2am on Wednesday, which should show you just how dedicated I am to making sure you all know what we're doing here; you should check in once in a while if you're reading it!), we decided to go somewhere we hadn't been yet on this trip--Ueno!

Ueno is at the northeast end of Tokyo, and is one of the older areas, so there's really not a whole lot to see (at least that we've found). But there is the park, so we figured we'd go check that out again.



We found two sakura (cherry) trees that were already in bloom! Normally, they don't start opening until the end of March/early April, so we considered ourselves lucky. We're crossing our fingers and hoping they'll bloom a little early this year so we can see them before we leave. I've always wanted to see the sakura in full blossom!


Another thing we found was...



...this supposedly delicious tea (in the middle of the picture). Last time we came to the park, I bought a bottle of this and it was easily the worst tea I have ever had the displeasure of tasting. I gave it two thumbs way down and ended up dumping over half the bottle. Never again!


Now here's something fun! I took the liberty of setting up shots we took today next to similar shots we took in the summer of 2008 so you can see just how different things look this time around. Clever, aren't I? (Be sure to click on the pictures to see them full size. Click on "all sizes" above the picture, and it should give you the option to see it "large").





Look at how depressing this park is in winter! It's a far cry from the lush greenery and lavender-shaded hydrangeas we saw last time!





There's a whole new dress code this time around. Gone are the sandals, tank tops and skirts. They've been replaced by jeans, scarves, coats and hats. (You can see my fluffy pom poms now! Kind of. Cinnamon took this picture, and instead of getting the pictures off her camera, I just used the ones she posted on facebook, so they're not very big).
 



Bye bye sunglasses, hello face masks and cold-induced red noses!





It's almost unbelievable to think these bare stick-like bushes will be loaded with beautiful, vibrant flowers in just four more months. Living in Florida my whole life, I guess I never realized so many plants lose all their leaves in winter. It's been an educational trip!


We decided to exit the park a different way from where we came in, since we didn't want to pass by the drunk-sounding guy who was peddling something and calling out to us as he passed by the first time. Something along the lines of "hey baby" or "hey lady" and "matteru yo" (which means "I'll be waiting for you"). It was more funny than creepy, and we had a good laugh at it, so don't worry; we weren't worried he was out to stalk us or something.




Across the street from Keisei Ueno station, we saw several rows of gachapon machines. The picture is pretty self-explanatory. You put some money in, turn the knob, and out pops one of several possible goodies. Most of them are phone straps or keychains, but some are little action figures or other toys.


But what's this?





No, seriously, what is this?!


You can win a phone strap/keychain with a little plastic toilet on it! (Western or squat style, even!) Who would want such a thing? We certainly didn't, so we snapped a picture and kept on walking.


We were still on an umbrella hunt, so we meandered through the streets of Ameyoko looking for a suitable place, when lo and behold, it started raining! It was just a few sprinkles, but we knew it wasn't going to let up (the forecast was for rain and possible snow flurries in the evening). We pressed onward, searching for that perfect umbrella. I found a cute and girly one at Claire's for 500 yen (roughly $5.50). It's black with purple plaid and a purple ruffled trim. And compared to the cheap conbini (convenience store) umbrellas I had gotten used to using, it's huge! That turned out to be a good thing, as Cinnamon hadn't found anything to her liking yet. We could share mine for the time being. 


Eventually, we gave up on the hunt in pursuit of food. Then it was off to Gotanda for more Coco's curry! However, Cinnamon found a cute yellow umbrella at a little drugstore inside the station, so with that, our mission was complete! The curry was delicious and warmed us right up, but then it was back into the cold, wet night air. 


Since we were in the area, we thought it'd be fun to walk by the place we stayed last time we came to Japan. Much of Gotanda and Shirokanedai looked the same, but there were some differences. The house that was under construction at the corner of our old street was now finished. A few shops had changed hands and there was now a dog grooming/pet hotel shop, and a place called Panda Inn (which seemed to be a restaurant). The mysterious New York City Donut Plant was now open and selling donuts and coffee! Previously, it was always had its metal shutters rolled down, and the few times we got a peek inside, all you could see were things like ladders and other random junk. We were impressed with the new look!


In Meguro, there was a new drug/cosmetic store, and a Baskin Robbins! Where was that when we were here in the summer, hm? However, the old Wendy's (yes, the hamburger joint) was gone. The company that owned Wendy's in Japan decided to close all of its Japanese locations in December to focus on some of its other restaurants. Sad, but we'll always have the memories...


By the time we made it to Meguro station, it was already close to 7:45pm, and since most all of the shops in Tokyo close at 8, we decided to simply hop on the Yamanote and head back to Shinjuku. On our 20 minute walk back from the station, the rain was starting to change over to snow again! We saw quite a few flakes, which was still kind of exciting. It was never just snow, though. Always snow and rain. 


After a quick stop at the AMPM to pick up some snacks and milk tea (which I have recently discovered I quite like), it was back to our place to dry off and warm up. Tomorrow, I think we're going to check out the Ginza and Tokyo areas (for the first time this trip, anyway). There's a huge Sanrio/Hello Kitty store in Ginza that's calling my name~