Japan : Ueno Park, Ueno and Yodobashi, Akihabara

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Hotspot #4 and #5: Largest Sakura Park and Recognized Electronics Place

“Can’t wait to see more and more sakura.”

From Shibuya, there were 16 stops before we reached Ueno Station on Ginza Line. It was already 4pm and sun was about to come down at 5.30pm. We chose Ueno Park instead of other park coz it has more than 1000 cherry trees lining at its central pathway.

“So, be prepared for hanami secara besar-besaran la ni…”

We had to walk for about 50meters before we passed by one big shopping complex where there was one guy having an open speech about animal cruelty. He bowed and begged everyone to save and love animal, indirectly helping him to raise some fund for these animals. Baik kan?

We then crossed the road and saw one thin building with Panda face on it. Across the road, there were more Panda faces on the wall. “Tempat apa ni? Siap ada Pizza delivery!" Yup, they can deliver Pizza right to you, WHEREVER you are!

“Ooo…Ueno Koen (Park) has, like 3-4 museums, and zoo. First Japan zoological garden you know.”

“So we are expected to see Pandas walking around this park?”

“No lahhhhhhh.” Hahaha!

We climbed the stairs and saw street artists, busy sketching people. And most of them were old folks.

Main park was on the right, but we couldn’t help ourselves to let go this one big sakura tree, located in the middle of the area. It was so beautiful and eye-catching, and right next to this tree were lines of flowers and rows of lanterns. We quickly noticed that it was getting dark, the moment they were lighted on.

“Jom, we have to walk fast.”

I swear, I almost drop my jaw off once I entered the pathway. IT WAS SPLENDID! There were sakura trees along the path on both sides, and people were doing hanami in office attire! And they didn’t even bother to take off the ties and coats!

Looking at them having bento and asahi (beer) on the blue mat below the sakura trees, I wondered, how discipline Japanese are, for not messing up the park. They NEVER litter around! Cans and bottles in one bin, papers in another bin, and others in separate bin. (How to train Malaysian like this huh?) And again, no one smoke freely like dragon!

“I seriously can’t get enough of sakura. SO CUTE!”

“But most of them are 5 petals in white. Where’s pink?”

Even the most popular hanami spot with more than 1000 of cherry trees didn’t have much variety, so we could expect that pink and yellow are critically difficult to find.

“I’m hungry…” I looked around and find one spot, right opposite the mini Tori gate. There was a big kitty there. It seemed friendly but it was indeed, not easy to touch. While eating, it tried to come closer but poor kitty, we didn’t have anything to offer. (Takkan nak kasi serunding kot? But don’t worry guys, kitty tu gemuk! So takde la tak cukup makan.)

It was nearly sunset so we decided to went up, to one of the family temple used to own by the ruling Tokugawa during Edo period. Most of them were built to protect the city from evil, which one of the halls was dedicated to the goddess of Benten. (Bukan Ben10 ye…hahaha!)

Right down the park, there was a pond/lake called Lake Biwako. From this angle, experiencing sunset was, without doubt, truly amazing. We enjoyed the moment until the sun went down and the moon went up.

We walked back to the Ueno Station and stopped at Akihabara on Hibiya Line. You see…this is the best part of Tokyo Subway, where one station could have more than 2 lines. EASY to commute around, again, AS LONG AS you know where to go and where to stop. Note that ok?

Why Akihabara? Global Technology. Without doubt, this place is famous with electronic shops and was recognized as Japan's Otaku culture (die hard fan) devoted for anime and manga (bukan majalah mangga ye).

He chose Yodabashi-Akiba. Hubby was the one who would rather die if we skipped this place. He really wanted to see the range of price and models of camera and its accessories, in comparison with what he observed in South Korea.

Ternyata, dusta belaka.

Canon, Nikon, whatever produced by Japanese, was F**KING EXPENSIVE! (Started singing Yuna, Ini Tidak Adil…)

This complex has more than 5 levels and it’s huge! I bet it would be a heaven on earth for technology lovers. Hubby wasn’t excluded. He lingered around for quite sometime until I feel asleep at the waiting area. At this point of time, he didn’t bother to lose his wife than losing the precious time with filters, lens, tripods, and what not!

AND HE ENDED UP NOT BUYING ANYTHING! (Tampar dahi.)

"Now I cannot see cutie pies in Maid Cafes." I majuk. 

I always wanted to go to Maid Cafes (a cosplay themed restaurant) to experience the scene where the waitresses are typically dressed as French maids. You know...serving the food, talking to them, playing stupid kids block game, as if you are the master of the house. Gile kinky kan? Please someone, try for me next time, ok?

On the way back to our host’s house, we stopped at 7E (banyak majalah 'gadget' kat sini) and I got myself a pack of seafood noodles (sumpah sedap), while hubby got himself a pack of rice and fried fish at Hotto Motto (lagi sumpah sedap). Since there was no place to eat inside the restaurant (it’s like on-the-go café), we had to sit on the divider and ate.

Cuaca sejuk dengan makanan panas, with majalah "gadget", SUMPAH GOOD COMBINATION!

Read HERE for Travelista version.