I decided to go to Ueno Park today to see whether there were any autumn leaves left. I've never been to the park before and I thought a stroll there would bring me peace of mind. Bringing my trusty but crappy camera with me, here are some photos I snapped in the afternoon. It's a beautiful place, but I wish I had a good enough camera that can do the scenery justice.
I started out by snapping photos of the trees in the park. Not many golden leaves were left, but still a nice sight nonetheless.
Not just a simple park, the place is actually famous for its numerous art museums (which I didn't enter because I didn't want to pay the entrance fees, and also because I didn't have that much time, I had to catch one last film at the TOKYO FILMEX later in the day), temples and shrines, along with the Ueno Zoo, which used to be the home of the panda bears, but the last one died this year, depriving the zoo of its most popular attraction.
I saw the sign Big Buddha in Japanese and went off to have a look. I saw a shrine.
But apparently, only the face of the Big Buddha remained. (the whole statue was damaged during the 1923 Big Kanto earthquake, and then 20 years later, all except the face of the statue was melted down for use in the war effort during WW2. Very demeaning and sacrilegious!)
In fact, an old Japanese guy behind me was surprised too. "Only the face?" He exclaimed.
Then I continued walking around the park. It was a wonderful weather, so the place was crowded.
People liked to hang out and watch the fountain as well.
There were some food stalls (seen at the background of the photo below), and the most popular food I saw today seemed to be the crab noodles.
A cool bronze statue of Prince Komatsu Akihito (1846-1903), said to be a brilliant military tactician who subdued many samurai rebellions. He later became founder and president of the Japan Red Cross Society.
I heard the sound of accordion and followed its source. I saw an accordionist performing with a juggler. They were fun to watch. The second photo shows the juggler throwing, er, his juggling thingie, high into the air.
An elderly couple walking past the autumn trees.
The Kiyomizu Kannondo Temple. Another temple at Ueno Park.
I went to the Shinobazu Pond, a huge pond in the middle of the park divided into 3 sections: The Lotus Pond, the Boat Pond and the Cormorant Pond. At its center is the Benten island, where the Bentendo temple is erected (seen vaguely in the background of the 1st photo below, and much clearer in the 4th photo).
I liked the Lotus Pond, despite the fact that the lotuses had wilted.
I guess its beauty stemmed from its decay.
After spending nearly an hour and a half at Ueno Park, I headed off to watch LOVE EXPOSURE at TOKYO FILMeX, a 4-hour Japanese film, I will write about that later.
I just read from another site that YOYOGI PARK is actually a better place to visit during autumn, although, by now, as we are in the middle of the transition from fall to winter, I might not catch that much. But I'll go there tomorrow or Monday if I feel like it.
I started out by snapping photos of the trees in the park. Not many golden leaves were left, but still a nice sight nonetheless.
Not just a simple park, the place is actually famous for its numerous art museums (which I didn't enter because I didn't want to pay the entrance fees, and also because I didn't have that much time, I had to catch one last film at the TOKYO FILMEX later in the day), temples and shrines, along with the Ueno Zoo, which used to be the home of the panda bears, but the last one died this year, depriving the zoo of its most popular attraction.
I saw the sign Big Buddha in Japanese and went off to have a look. I saw a shrine.
But apparently, only the face of the Big Buddha remained. (the whole statue was damaged during the 1923 Big Kanto earthquake, and then 20 years later, all except the face of the statue was melted down for use in the war effort during WW2. Very demeaning and sacrilegious!)
In fact, an old Japanese guy behind me was surprised too. "Only the face?" He exclaimed.
Then I continued walking around the park. It was a wonderful weather, so the place was crowded.
People liked to hang out and watch the fountain as well.
There were some food stalls (seen at the background of the photo below), and the most popular food I saw today seemed to be the crab noodles.
A cool bronze statue of Prince Komatsu Akihito (1846-1903), said to be a brilliant military tactician who subdued many samurai rebellions. He later became founder and president of the Japan Red Cross Society.
I heard the sound of accordion and followed its source. I saw an accordionist performing with a juggler. They were fun to watch. The second photo shows the juggler throwing, er, his juggling thingie, high into the air.
An elderly couple walking past the autumn trees.
The Kiyomizu Kannondo Temple. Another temple at Ueno Park.
I went to the Shinobazu Pond, a huge pond in the middle of the park divided into 3 sections: The Lotus Pond, the Boat Pond and the Cormorant Pond. At its center is the Benten island, where the Bentendo temple is erected (seen vaguely in the background of the 1st photo below, and much clearer in the 4th photo).
I liked the Lotus Pond, despite the fact that the lotuses had wilted.
I guess its beauty stemmed from its decay.
After spending nearly an hour and a half at Ueno Park, I headed off to watch LOVE EXPOSURE at TOKYO FILMeX, a 4-hour Japanese film, I will write about that later.
I just read from another site that YOYOGI PARK is actually a better place to visit during autumn, although, by now, as we are in the middle of the transition from fall to winter, I might not catch that much. But I'll go there tomorrow or Monday if I feel like it.
