Best Laid Plans....get ruined by typhoons
After our trip to Hokkaido, we were left with 5 (five) days in Japan. The last one not really counting cause that's the day you try to shove everything into your suitcase, innit?
We had wanted to go to Hakone again, to see the lakes and do the mountain trail and ropeway circuit and try the egg ice cream, but the typhoon that had hit Vietnam a few days before was blowing over the Kyoto region, along with another typhoon hitting other areas. The forecast for Hakone was bleak. We were sad and disappointed but managed to fill our time in other ways.
Return to Ueno
First we went back to Ueno, because the zoo there is Tokyo's oldest zoo. It's large and spans across a main road - to access the otherside you can take the zoo's monorail or walk over a huge bridge, within the zoo boundaries.
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| Flamingo chick |
I like zoos. Zoos are important: They educate people about animals around the world, habitats and conservation. They allow people to see creatures they may never see around the world, either because they're rare or because they will never travel to that region OR, as is often the case, they don't see them despite travelling to that place. This zoo is no different - they have bred pandas and have managed to breed various raptors and other animals. However I found myself disgusted and angry at times by what I consider, as a frequent-zoo-visitor and outsider (so I may be wrong here, and I would welcome the keepers of the zoo to argue back, but that's unlikely, so....) to be a lack of basic care of some of their animals.
The polar bears were a prime example. The weather in Tokyo that day was 34 degrees, complete sunshine, with the occasional shower, felt like 39 degrees. The Polar Bear enclosure had water, good. It had that crap plastic, "we're making it look like the arctic" environment. The bears were out of the water, on land, where there was no shade. No drinking water, other than what they swim in. They were panting and languishing in the sun. Polar Bears, let's not forget, have thick fur made for sub-zero temperatures. There was no visible or physical sign of airconditioning; the enclosure was the same temperature as the otherside of the fence and there was no cooling water spray system in place. They were suffering.
I have been to many zoos but I have never seen animals suffering like that. It made me angry that such a basic thing as providing polar bears with shade and a cool environment - their indoor enclosure, if needs be cause fuck the public's desire to see them, frankly - was not provided for these poor animals. Have you ever seen a polar bear pant? It's not pretty.
A stark contrast to the neighbouring enclosure for the Hokkaido black bear; shaded, complete with cool water misting over it. You can see the ground is wet from the photo.
The Asiatic lion, too, was suffering from the heat. He was panting and drooling and showing signs of over-heating. He too had a water pool, but unlike the enclosure next to his, it was not freshly running water. It was a tepid and unattractive looking pool. I felt sorry for the lion - it's possible he had been drinking, but I can't help but feel that if you can't lead the horse to drink during a heatwave, then there's something wrong with what you are offering, not with the horse.
The meercats, too, were the saddest, motheaten meercats I have ever seen in my life, and they're not hard to keep happy. It could be that they're simply old and on their way out, hence the smaller enclosure (there were only about 5) and they were at least indoors.
Those three animals excluded, it's not a bad zoo - it has a wide range of habitats to explore and many birds, mammals, insects and reptiles. Unfortunately, it was seeing those three animals not looking as well-cared for as all the others, that marred the visit.
Photos of zoo animals
Japan's Greatest Stand Up Comedian
When the laws regulating Airbnb came in, Airbnb gave us a £100 voucher to spend on airbnb experiences. Unfortunately, I messed up - you have to pay for all experiences at once, it's not a code that gets applied to your account, so we only got to spend it on a single experience: a live stand up show in Asukusa, Tokyo, with a private audience with said comedian.
It seemed like it could be a lark, so we booked it. We were two of 6 - 3 couples, one from England (near Milton Keynes, as it happens) and a Spanish couple who are currently living and working in Wisconsin (poor souls). We each had a drink on the house and we spent time getting to know each other and letting the comedian practise his English on us - which we were paying for him to do, really. #cynic
The show consisted of two parts, the first setting the scene for Stand Up comedy in Japan (there is none) and why Meshida wanted to be a comic. There were a lot of jokes that hit home and he interacts well with the audience. One or two jokes were still a little rough - the delivery was a bit too... blunt, I guess. I can't think of a better way of putting it. There were times when it was clear that he didn't quite 'get' the way that "English stand up humour" worked, but there was humour in itself as well.
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| Tokyo Skytree, Asahi beer-glass shaped building, the flame |
The second half still needs some work, but we learned things too - he spoke about religion (though there could have been more about that, particularly about weddings in Japan) and how Shinto Buddhism came to be and the difference between Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.
We also learned about the strange art sculpture outside the Asahi building, which is famous. Japanese locals call it the golden turd, apparently. Originally it was upright, and one of three - they were flames. Then the buildings behind it complained because the three flames were blocking all of the natural light. They took away two flames. Still a problem. So they laid the third flame down, in the position you see in the photo. I mean, the French are known for their art, but this particular piece is a monstrosity in its size. (It was a French artist)
There were quite a lot of on-going jokes, though Meshida hasn't quite got the hang of call-backs and recurring jokes. When we made a joke referring to one he'd made, he thought we had actually seen the thing happen. It will be really interesting to see how he develops in the next few years and to see if he perseveres and breaks through.
At the moment, the majority of people who see his shows are English tourists, Americans and Japanese hoping to practise their English. What Meshida has done, quitting his job to become a comedian, was also a source of discussion for him - it married up very well with
Convenience Store Woman, which I reviewed earlier this month.
He was thoroughly pleasant and has some good material. I hope that he won't be asked if he'd like more tea* and continues to do what he clearly loves doing.
*In Japan, if you're offered more tea at a restaurant, it usually means, "we've noticed you're taking a long time. Please leave."
Final Days
Well, it was raining or really really hot. We spent one of the really hot days shopping, making the most of the last day of our JR Pass. We went to Akihabara, so that Hubbo could buy a Sega Saturn. And controllers. I got a pair of joycon sticks, so we can multiplayer the Taiko drum game on the switch. Unfortunately everywhere was sold out of the drum controller, so we've preordered on playasia, which works out for the best, because look how full the Merch Suitcase is.
At least it closes without squashing anything, but good grief. I was reluctant at first to let him get the controller, because of how frickin' huge the box is. However it cost £7 in Japan and on ebay it's £70+, so it's very difficult to say no to that. I mean, what a bitch I would have been, right? The Saturn itself is in great nick (they look after and do up second-hand stuff so much better than in the UK where they will sell you things in "good condition" that you think, "good god why have they destroyed it?").
We spent time in Ikebukero as well. It was super hot that day - we scuttled back to our flat by 4pm because it was just unbearable. We also decided that it made sense to book a cheap hotel room at the airport, rather than getting up at 4am for a 10am flight. So we tidied up, packed up and just chilled out for half a day. Which Hubbo finally admitted he needed - he had fun, but he's tired out from all the travelling we've been doing.
Eastshade has a very simple 'plot' - you're a painter, fulfilling your promise to your mother (who is, I assume, dead) to visit the beautiful island and paint particular viewpoints or tourist spots. The point of the game is to explore, enjoy and to create works of art. You build relationships with the inhabitants of the island by running errands or solving mysteries, or even fixing their love lives! I can't say for sure yet how far your responses affect the end of the game, as I'm still working through completing all the steam challenges on my first run-through. I'll definitely enjoy finding out whether a more grouchy, morose reponse set will affect how well I get on with others and whether it affects my end-of-game experience. 
I honestly have found myself listening to it on spotify when going for walks, when reading, when sitting quietly and doing some art. I've even played it in the background during quiet work time while working with key worker children at school. It's calming and matches the surroundings or locations of the island beautifully. My husband hasn't played through the game yet but he has said how pretty the soundtrack is, musing that it'll be even better when listening in situ. 
