Today I woke up bright and early, then decided to sleep in a bit. After sleeping most of the morning away, I rose and headed out to Ueno, home of most of the museums in Tokyo. Ueno Park is like Grant Park in Chicago, except that Ueno Park is about a quarter of the size and has 5-6 more museums. Definitely a sight. My first stop of the day was Tokyo National Museum, the largest and most important of the art museums in Tokyo. There, I saw a grand exhibit of Asian art - mixed from many different countries, including the Middle East. However, I was unable to take pictures in that building, much to my chagrin. I did meet a few new friends though - Saba, Tee, and Nico are all from New Zealand and were having such a good time in the exhibit areas that I couldn't help but try and join in.
The next building housed something I also wanted to photograph, yet again, I could not. However, given the nature of the exhibit, I realize that it was important that I couldn't. They were displaying the oldest piece of extant Nara period art in the world - a Buddha painting in a display known as Kichijoten. Held by the Buddhist temple of Yakushiji, this is both a national treasure and a hibutsu - a secret Buddah image that is shown only at select times before being put away for hundreds of years. It is a rare treat to be able to see something of this sort while I am here.
After exiting the museum, I wandered through Ueno Park before deciding to go to Nishi Ogikubo, called Nishiogi by the locals. Nishiogi is a fascinating place, home to artists and antiquers, held together by a web of tiny and confusing city streets. It also butts right up against a shipping area so there are small warehouses held under train overpasses, competing for space with the local jazz clubs. I wandered Nishiogi for several hours, buying some inexpensive gifts for friends, and poking my head in various antique stores/art shops. I had excellent curry there, made by an Indian man. He was very kind and even helped me with some of my Japanese.
From there, I made my way to Shibuya to try and find an Internet cafe, as I was looking to try and get off my feet for a while. Shibuya is incredibly busy, but I had a good time wandering through various music stores looking for CDs for friends. I did find an Internet cafe, different from the one I first wanted, but acceptable. The cafes here are very nice, with good connections, free drinks, relatively low fees and other diversions like ping pong, pool, and manga. After I left the cafe, the streets were even busier! Fearing the loss of the last train and a huge cab fare, I hopped the first train back towards home. Tomorrow is a busy day again, as I move out of the hotel and in with a friend for a few days. Looking forward to seeing more of Tokyo from a local's perspective.
