Making it Up As I Go

More pictures from the last couple of months.

From the grounds of the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu in Ueno Park:

Massive alligator in Ueno Zoo.

Fortune telling machine at the Kiyomizu Kannon Temple.

Tiny kind of liked it.

Displays from the Museum of Natural History and Science. This was when I realized that Japan kind of actually did the steampunk thing.

This is a “robot” used to deliver cups of tea to guests. (It usually had a kimono to cover its workings.)

Death this way?

There was a special exhibit of the Yoshimoto Collection. From the museum description: “The Yoshimoto Collection is a collection of specimens that were hunted in various parts of the world between 1946 and 1995. The collection was donated to the National museum of Nature and Science in 1997 by the W.T. Yoshimoto Foundation on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The collection consists of 412 specimens of mammals, birds, and reptiles, most of which are whole body taxidermies. The Yoshimoto Collection is distinct from ordinary hunting collections in that Mr. Yoshimoto emphasized the importance of preserving a taxidermy as a record, while collecting the specimins taking note of when and where almost each and every individual animal was taken, and all of these hunting records have been donated along with the specimens as supplementary materials. The existence of such records related to the specimens is of extreme scientific importance.”

From the Hakone Open Air Museum

From the Shrine of the 47 Ronin

This was in a train station somewhere. 

These are from the super awesome Edo-Tokyo Museum: There are a series of commercials here that feature a woman riding in a rickshaw. The girls are reenacting one here. Lunch in Shinjuku Gyoen. October cherry blossoms.
Kiki met Harry Potter on Halloween.

The Giant Buddha in Kamakura.

Bronson is good. Now you know.While my mom was here, she fell in love with the architecture. This picture is for her.

From Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa. Another one for my momma.Christmas illuminations in Shinjuku.
Fashionable Miss Tiny. I have no idea. Our friends Jon and Terry Hastings came to visit from California. We took them to Max Brenner Chocolate Bar, where we all died of chocolate.

Chocolate caramel hot chocolate. Chocolate pizza.S’mores.
Fondue. Roasting marshmallows. We also went with them to a cat cafe.  And to Odaiba to see giant robots. Jon, Terry, and I went to Gon Pachi, the restaraunt that the restaurant in Kill Bill is based on. It has great atmosphere, and the food is really really good. I had wagyu beef and it was the best food I’ve ever eaten in my life. I want it as my last meal, should I get to pick such a thing. Soooooo good. There was an all woman taiko band playing when we got there. It was amazing.More to come! (Seriously, I have so many pictures. How did I get so behind?)