Other Shrines and Temples in Ueno Park...

A giant bronze Buddha was placed in Ueno Park in 1631, but it toppled in the Great 1923 Tokyo Earthquake. Only the face remains after the body was melted down for metal during World War II. 

Bentendo is located on an island in Shinobazu Pond. This temple is dedicated to Benten, the goddess of good fortune, wealth, music and knowledge.

In the Edo-era (1625), Shogun Tokugawa established Kaneiji Temple to ward off evil from the unlucky northeast direction of Ueno Park's location. It eventually became one of the city's largest and wealthiest temples, but only a few buildings remain.

Ueno Toshogu Shrine...

Toshogu Shrine, also known as the Shrine of Gold, was built in 1627 and then remodeled in 1651 (and again in 2014). Remarkably, it has survived several major earthquakes and fires plus the air raids of World War II.

This sacred tree was on the property before the shrine was built and is estimated to be over 600 years old.

The Flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki...

After the museums, I wandered around Ueno Park some more and I happened upon this eternal flame within the grounds of Toshogu Shrine.

This peace monument was established on August 6, 1990 for the 45th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The flame itself was from the burning embers of a man’s home in Hiroshima. Originally, his nephew saved the flame as an expression of his resentment, but eventually it became a symbol of his desire to abolish nuclear weapons and for peace. This flame was merged with a flame lit by the friction of broken roofing tiles of Nagasaki and brought to a special session of the UN in 1988 and then to this peace monument.

Tokyo National Museum...

Melisa and I had much better luck on Tuesday when we actually managed to get inside the museum. Luckily we weren't wearing high heels so we didn't disturb other visitors.

The cool thing about this museum was that it was a manageable size and didn't take hours and hours to go through. There was a limited number of any one type of artifact, so it wasn't overwhelming.

There was a small special exhibit of medical artifacts, including this model for the study of acupuncture from 1662.

From the terrace we could see this lovely garden.

While the main building housed only Japanese artifacts, there was also a building encompassing the rest of Asia.

Melisa was flying out the next day, so she didn't join me for the Western Art Museum, where I enjoyed seeing some paintings by familiar Dutch Old Masters.

Lost in Translation...

I'd like to blame a language barrier or some other outside force (perhaps the rain?), but frankly, Melisa and I weren't too bright when we headed out that Monday to Ueno Park to do some sightseeing. Instead of eating in one of the many affordable restaurants, we opted to go to a food court and settled for mediocre food instead. Then we walked to the Tokyo National Museum only to discover it was closed on Mondays. Of course, savvy travelers like us should have known to check the schedule first.

To prove just how un-savvy we actually are, we then headed to the Imperial Gardens to take a walk in the rain. After waiting out a huge downpour, we made our way to the entrance gate only to find out (bet you didn't see this coming!) that it's also closed on Mondays.

At least the rain finally stopped and I could take a few photos before we gave up on the idea of sightseeing and went home.

DYI Pancakes...

After all that hiking, we'd worked up an appetite. We found a funky little place in Roppongi where you cook the food yourself. We both ordered pancakes; Ashlynn's was vegetarian and mine had scallops. The cook demonstrated with mine and Ashlynn made her own.

 It was pretty basic: stir, pour...

...and flip.

They were delicious!

Bushwhacking Back to Town...

After getting eaten up by mosquitos, we decided to adjust our original plan of hiking back across into town and instead bushwhacked along the edge of the woods crossing several farms. This one was growing tea...

...and this one had eggplants.

We also happened upon a natural bamboo forest, which was very cool.

After hiking 8 miles (13K) we made it back to town. We thought we'd pick up something to eat, but couldn't find anything open except a small tourist shop where we bought some green tea soba noodles to bring home. We had to settle with ice cream treats from a vending machine at the train station.