One of the shrines in Ueno Park

Vending Machine

In Japan, with a high population density, limited space, a preference for shopping on foot or by bicycle, low rates of vandalism and petty crime, and a small and decreasing number of working-age people, there seems to be no limit to what is sold by vending machines. While the majority of machines in Japan are stocked with drinks, snacks, and cigarettes, one occasionally finds vending machines selling items such as bottles of liquor, cans of beer, fried food, underwear, iPods, porn magazines and sexual lubricants, and potted plants. [4] Japan has the highest number of vending machines per capita, with about one machine for every 23 people. [5]

The first vending machine in Japan was made of wood and sold postage stamps and post cards. About 80 years ago, there were vending machines that sold sweets called "Glico". In 1967, the 100-yen coin was distributed for the first time, and vending machine sales skyrocketed overnight,[citation needed] selling a vast variety of items everywhere.

In Japan, vending machines are known as 自動販売機 (jidō-hanbaiki) from jidō, or "automatic"; hanbai, or "vending"; and ki, or "machine", 自販機 (jihanki) for short.

In 1999, the estimated 5.6 million coin- and card-operated Japanese vending machines generated $53.28 billion in sales. Vending machine goods and services can cost as little as 80 and as much as 3,000 yen.

With the introduction to services such as "Osaifu-Keitai", cell phones can now be used to pay for the items bought from these vending machines more easily.

Scheduled for introduction in 2008, a smart card called taspo will restrict sales of cigarettes from vending machines. An embedded integrated circuit will contain information about the age of the cardholder.

(source: Wikipedia)

Mini Golf?

I wonder what they are playing. Looks like a mini golf to me.

Japanese Old Couple Drawing in Ueno Park

Lamp Post

Doraemon

Doraemon (ドラえもん Dora Emon, Doraemon?) is a Japanese children's manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio (the pen name of Hiroshi Fujimoto) which later became an anime series and Asian franchise. The series is about a robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a schoolboy, Nobita Nobi (野比 のび太, Nobi Nobita?).

In March 2008, Japan's Foreign Ministry appointed Doraemon as the nation's first "anime ambassador."Ministry spokesman explained the novel decision as an attempt to help people in other countries to understand Japanese anime better and to deepen their interest in Japanese culture." The Foreign Ministry action confirms that Doraemon has come to be considered a Japanese cultural icon. In 2002, the anime character was acclaimed as an Asian Hero in a special feature survey conducted by Time Asia magazine.

The series first appeared in December 1969, when it was published simultaneously in six different magazines. In total, 1,344 stories were created in the original series, which are published by Shogakukan under the Tentōmushi (てんとう虫, Tentōmushi?) manga brand, extending to forty-five volumes. The volumes are collected in the Takaoka Central Library in Toyama, Japan, where Fujio was born.

A majority of Doraemon episodes are comedies with moral lessons regarding values such as integrity, perseverance, courage, family and respect for elders. Several noteworthy environmental issues are often visited, including homeless animals, endangered species, deforestation, and pollution. Topics such as dinosaurs, the flat earth theory, wormhole traveling, Gulliver's Travels, and the history of Japan are often covered.

Doraemon was awarded the first Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga in 1982, and the first Osamu Tezuka Culture Award in 1997.

(source: Wikipedia)

Early Autumn @ Ueno Park

I took this picture on 16 Sep 2008 and I could see the red-changing leaves already.

Ueno Park

Ueno Park (上野公園, Ueno Kōen?) is a spacious public park located in the Ueno section of Taito, Tokyo, Japan. It occupies the site of the former Kan'ei-ji, a temple closely associated with the Tokugawa shoguns, who had built the temple to guard Edo Castle against the northeast. The temple was destroyed during the Boshin War.

Ueno Park was established through an imperial land grant to the city of Tokyo by Emperor Taishō in 1924. The official name of the park is Ueno Onshi Kōen (上野恩賜公園, Ueno Onshi Kōen?), which can be translated as "Ueno Imperial Gift Park".

A very famous statue of Saigō Takamori walking his dog stands in this park.

Three museums (Tokyo National Museum, The National Science Museum and The National Museum of Western Art) a concert hall, a Toshogu shrine, the Shinobazu Pond with its Benzaiten shrine, and the Ueno Zoo make this area a tourist and recreation area popular with both Japanese and foreigners.

Steam locomotive in front of the National Science Museum.Ueno Park and its surroundings figure prominently in Japanese fiction, including Gan (The Wild Goose) by Mori Ōgai.

Ueno Park is also home to many homeless people.

(source: Wikipedia)

Torii (Sacred Gates) of the Shrine in Ueno Park

Ueno Zoo

The Ueno Zoo (恩賜上野動物園, Onshi Ueno Dōbutsuen?) is a zoo, managed by Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and located in Taito, Tokyo, Japan. It is Japan's oldest and most famous zoo. It was opened on March 20, 1882. Its location, a five-minute walk from the Park Exit of Ueno Station, makes access from Tokyo's public-transportation network convenient. The Ueno Zoo Monorail, the first monorail in the country, connects the eastern and western parts of the grounds.

Ueno Zoo's saddest time came during World War II. The Japanese Army ordered that all "wild and dangerous animals" at the zoo be killed, claiming that bombs could hit the zoo and escaping wild animals would wreak havoc in the streets of Tokyo. Requests by the staff at the zoo for a reprieve, or to evacuate the animals elsewhere, were refused. Ueno Zoo's three elephants at the time, John, Tonky, and Wanly (or Wang Lee) were too clever to eat the poisoned food, and thus were slowly starved to death. The fate of Ueno's animals, particularly the elephants, has often been used in Japan as an example of the evils of war.

The Sumatran tiger, and western lowland gorilla head the list of the zoo's population of 422 species (as of March, 2003). Ueno has most variety of species on exhibition than any other zoo in Japan.

Within the limits in which it operates, the Ueno Zoo attempts to provide the animals an environment similar to the natural habitat. In recent years, the dreary, old-fashioned cages of the past have been replaced with modern habitats, such as the "Gorilla Woods".

Redistribution of the animals among Tokyo's other zoos (including Tama Zoo and Inokashira Nature Park) left Ueno without a lion. However, in response to public demand, Ueno borrowed a female from the Yokohama Municipal Zoo.

The Ueno Zoo is located within Ueno Park, a large urban park that is home to several museums, a small amusement park, and other attractions.

(source: Wikipedia)