Who's the creepy girl taking photos of children? Oh yeah, me.

Finally some fantastic weather! Not a cloud in the sky, and not nearly as humid as it's been. I packed up my bag at 9:30 and headed toward Ueno Park. Not only is the park beautiful, tucked away statues, water fountains, great landscape, but the park also houses a series of museums, plus the Tokyo zoo. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3019.html

I made my way to the park through trial and error, and loved wandering around taking in the sun and scoping out the various street vendors and performers. Yes, even Tokyo has them, although the acts are a bit different. I saw a blond haired Japanese woman dressed in sort of Scarlet O'Hara garb, http://www.jamd.com/search?assettype=g&assetid=3068812&text=scarlet+o%2527hara, singing opera (and despite the language barrier, I can tell you it wasn't very good), an amazing contortionist (who was so amazing at times I couldn't watch) , and a jokester who went from juggling, hand walking and various balancing acts, to putting on skits and cracking jokes with the crowd (see him in the video below). He was my favorite, but that may have been because I was partial to his hair.

I found the zoo first, and decided I'd pay the 600 yen to enter. I saw polar bears, pandas, lions, elephants, and then also something which separated this zoo from the ones I've frequented in America, the cutest school children on earth. I've decided I may get arrested (potentially deported) as I'm caught taking all of these pictures of children here, but there's simply nothing cuter. Between the school outfits, which include shorts, knee socks, blazers and little white hats, and the various other outfits (typically of rock n roll style), who could resist? I promise to blog more on the various styles here soon... I'm trying to find a way to be inconspicuous while taking photos of passersby (yeah, that may take some time).

Onto the Tokyo National Museum, which was also cool and a nice break from the now blazing sun. Many of the paintings consisted only of Japanese characters, but their beauty and craftsmanship were very evident. There were also some gorgeous cherry tree paintings. Three of the four exhibits were free, the only one with a charge was a visiting exhibition from Paris, so I spent lots of time roaming the exhibits.

Time to relax. I found a great spot on a bench (benches, by the way, are few and far between in Tokyo) and picked up a taste of home, my book "Devil in the White City". If you haven't read it, read it. That's how my next two hours were spent, and then my 45 minutes train ride home surrounded by salarymen in tailored suits sleeping every which way you looked.