Japan 2013: Pandamonium at Ueno Zoo

After our hearty lunch, we went out for a walk as we made our way to the zoo.  Ueno Zoo (or Ueno Zoological Gardens) was founded in 1882 and is the oldest zoo in Japan. Unlike most of the zoos I've been to, Ueno Zoo is located within a park where families and friends can hold picnics under cherry blossom trees. It's a perfect hanami spot during spring. Too bad, there were only a few fully bloomed trees left when we got there. Nevertheless, people were still enjoying the spring breeze under the shade of trees.

Ueno Zoo

Since it was a beautiful spring weekend, a lot of people also thought it was a good idea to visit the zoo. After all, tickets only cost 600 円 per adult. And because the Yagis treated us for lunch, we couldn't possibly let them pay for the zoo entrance so we treated them this time. After all, they will be accompanying us, not the other way around. Oh and as if our party of seven ain't big enough, we'll be meeting up with Shelou and her beau, Mikey, too. So today, the Japanese-speaking bunch outnumbers the non-Japanese speakers. Fun!

Uhh where's the panda?

Located near the entrance are the stars of the zoo - the Giant Pandas! Duh. There was already a long line leading to its shelter so we queued along. After all, seeing the pandas is what we came here for!