We were already in Ueno Park at this time, so what were we entering?
(And you can get a slightly larger version as well.)

Back in Tōkyō, last full day in Japan

Last day of May as well, I have only a few pictures to show, so let me quote almost all my journal entry for this day.

«Got up at the usual hour of five, for a departure from Matsubaya Ryokan at 6:30, to catch a 7:30-ish bullet train to Tōkyō. With no time for a proper breakfast, we got a snack at a take-out place in the Kyōto station. I got a ham and cheese sandwich, adequate. But why do they insist on cutting off the crusts? Is it to guarantee that the bread-slices are perfectly rectangular and the therefore perfectly uniform? So that no one will lget a bit of bread more or less than the next person? The Moorman Kings got boxed meals, much more Japanese.

«Onto the train, where M & I bought cups of coffee from the up-and-down-rolling young lady purveying all sorts of comestibles. The cup was small, six ounces I estimated (maybe eight or 1/4 liter), but the coffee, though too hot at first, was excellent. That was a surprise.

«Off the train at Shinagawa Station, where we will be able to get an express to the airport tomorrow. The hotel is about a mile from there, and we wanted to go directly to the hotel to check in and get rid of our bags. Mike poked his head into a cab and was tole,Oh, it’s too close, you should take the bus you get from over there. So we rolled our stuff to the bus and Mike was told, Oh, it’s too close, you should walk. There was supposed to be a hotel shuttle van, but we didn’t seem to be able to, or else to know how to get it. So we put all our bags into big coin-lockers (¥600 per each, about six bucks) and hopped a JR train to Ueno Park, location of our date with John Tran [the docent whose information was so detailed and interesting back when we were in Tōkyō before] at the National Museum. In that neighborhood we found a high-end restaurant, Japanese seating only, with a nice menu. I got tempura once more, and as usual it was delicious, though I always wonder at the amount of oil I’m consuming. The total bill was about $140, so roughly $28 per each. Not bad, considering the refined atmosphere.»

My journal is silent on the fact that in the neighborhood of the museum, we walked by another display of bonsai azalea today. The plants were truly amazing, and I’ve shown only two of them. Notice especially the rootlike effect in the right-hand plant. But my journal continues:

«From there to the museum, which we got to fairly early. Free to oldsters over 70! We soon met John, with a licensed guide to make things legal, and spent a nice 3 hours walking around the second floor of just one of the 3 buildings of the Museum.

«M got footsore and eyesore early, but I enjoyed it a lot, and Mason was absolutely in his element.

«Afterwards, John suggested that we all go out for beer, but it took us a while to find a place inexpensive enough and with seating for six. We wound up at an Italianoid place where the beer was various—three of us got Asahi Black, a dark beer that was very good. Then a caprese with small tomatoes but very nice fresh mozzarella. The two orders of white pizza with little mushrooms. Very pleasant, lots of good talk.

«We parted, and our group of five went back to Shinagawa, where we worried for about ten minutes about how to get back to the hotel. Mike couldn’t rouse the hotel’s desk staff by cell phone, and finally we decided that we did have enough folding money to take a cab. It turned out to be only ¥730 per cab, a total of fourteen and a half dollars, way below the amount we had in pocket. So that turned out well.

«Mason was still hungry, whereas M & I were bed-starved, and went right upstairs to our room. We meet at nine on the morrow for breakfast.»