Going to the zoo

On Tuesday, my aunt Shizuko and I went to visit the Ueno Dobutsuen. The main attraction we wanted to see were the pandas. I've never seen a live panda and I find them so adorable.

I met my aunt in Shinjuku where we took the Yamanote line to Ueno. The park is just a short way from there and all we had to do was follow the big throng of people exiting the station and making its way in the zoo's direction.

When we arrived at the zoo, we found out the entry fee was free that day because it happened to be the park's birthday that day. Sweet, right? But... because it was free, there were sooo many people that day. And there was a huge lineup to see the pandas, because of course, everyone wants to see the pandas. We asked one of the ladies working there how much time it would take if we decided to line up: 2 hours!!! So we decided not to line up, even though we had come to see the pandas. My aunt is about 80 years old and though standing for 2 hours is not a big deal for me, it's a bit more tiring for someone her age.

Instead, we got to see some elephants and some monkeys. I almost felt like a little kid again, amazed at everything. It's been several years since I last visited a zoo. Everyone goes to a zoo at least once in their life, usually at a young age. But as we grow up, I think we kind of think of zoos as something made for little kids. But I realized that it doesn't matter how old you are, animals are fascinating creatures. The elephants were so big and majestic and the monkeys were just jumping around in their cage, dangling from branches. It was so cool to see.

Some monkeys that look a lot like skunks

Some more monkeys, hanging from their cage bars

A tapir: it has quite an interesting shape, doesn't it?

A very fascinating specimen, my aunt Shizuko : P

We didn't see the pandas this time but my aunt came up with this plan: Next time (on a day where the entry is NOT free), I'll sleep at her house the night before, then we'll arrive at the park just as it's opening so we can be among the first ones to line up to see the pandas. : )