Crepes!

Saturday 2nd February

Explored the parks of Tokyo today. Started off in Ueno which was actually a bit of a disappointment. There were a few street entertainers which were fun to watch and a pagoda but other than that not a lot. The lake was covered in dead reeds which wasn't very attractive and I decided against the zoo after hearing bad reports that the pandas are mis-treated. Instead I opted to join the queue of kids buying a crepe. Well I wished I hadn't bothered. Although they looked fab in their fancy coned paper and pink spoons they actually consisted of 80% squirty cream, 10% dry chocolate cake and then a bit of banana and chocolate sauce. A few mouthfuls was enough and I threw it away and headed to the Imperial Palace.

You can't actually go in Tokyo's Imperial Palace as it is still occupied however you can wander around the expansive grounds and there are some great photo opportunities too. It was just relaxing to sit and watch the world go by. Plus with it being a Saturday there were actually some other tourists.

I also went to visit Yasukuni-Jinga Japan's most controversial shrine as it is a symbol of all those who died for their country including the soldiers in the first and second world war. However it was actually quite peaceful with protestors obviously diverting their attention elsewhere that day.

On the way back I stopped off at the Tokyo International Forum after Daniel telling me that the reason I wasn't impressed the first time was that I hadn't gone into the main hall itself and from the outside you can't see how the glass structure resembles a ship. Well I'm still not sure its worth anyone making a special trip to see it but at least I can say I have seen one of Japans finest modern architectural buildings.