::Tokyo:: the zoo

My little gnome just outside the Tokyo Zoo ~ in Ueno Park.

It was another HOT day in Tokyo so we rushed a bit through the zoo.

I felt like the animals were much easier to see here than most other zoos I've visited. They were right there, ready for their close up!

I enjoyed seeing all of the school groups at the zoo. One minute this picnic area contained lunch kits and blankets piled high, the next it was school kids and their chaperones resting in the shade and eating lunch. Lots of cute bento box lunches.  

This panda is the main attraction at the zoo.

Another school group sketching the elephants.

The pagoda on the zoo grounds.

Another school group parading through in matching hats. Notice the teachers wearing those black sleeves on their arms.  While I kept stripping off clothes in the heat I noticed the majority of Japanese women were very covered up. Jeans, arm sleeves, hats and many carried umbrellas.

I warned my daughter ahead of time that some of the public restrooms might just be one of these. Had to snap a pic for you ~ the ladies room at the zoo.  ☺

Everything was extremely clean in Tokyo.  Unlike what we see in Europe, people don't eat on the go here while walking down the street.  You rarely see people with coffee on the streets even.  Public restrooms were super clean as were the trains, subways and streets.  The funny thing was that it was really hard to find trash bins on the streets. I found myself carrying discarded gum and granola bar/snack wrappers in my bag all day, only to dump back at our hotel in the evening.

That's it for the Ueno Park Zoo.

Next up ~ shopping in Tokyo.

xo~
Tricia