Hanami 2011 Continued...

Ueno park was packed with people just like last year, actually, I would say a few less because there were very few foreigners. Another sign of the earthquake. Christina and I grabbed a few feet of curb between some of the tarps and had our lunch beneath the cherry blossoms. After we finished, we strolled under the trees and tried not to run in to people that suddenly stopped to take pictures skyward. It took a minute to get around this huge group amassed under a tree though. Do you see the kitties?

 

After enjoying the trees for awhile, we headed to Ueno zoo to see their new main attraction- the Giant Pandas: Shin-shin and Ri-Ri (pronounced Li-Li).

At first, we decided the line was doable. It looked like about 300 people in line and a couple switchbacks in the queue. Not bad. After attempting to get in the line though, we realized that that was not the end, just a break in the line to let traffic pass through. The line zig-zagged and winded around several exhibits and was closer to 3000 people long. We decided to pass and instead got our picture taken with these guys:

We explored the rest of the zoo and saw some other fun animals including a 1 1/2 year old gorilla. Kawaii!

Later, we ran in to the guy who's job it is to mark the end of the Panda line. We asked him how long it was to see the pandas and he said, "Maybe, one hour."

"Well, we did come to see the panda. What the hell."

So we got in line and only 35 minutes later, we were panda viewing!!

Since we had no children with us and are not handicapped, we had to be in the back row of the three lines, which means other people heads in the photos. We had about 1 minute to see the two panda while constantly being shuffled and encouraged along as to keep the line moving.

After our panda-riffic time, we continue to the other side of the zoo and out to the Ueno park area. There were beautiful cherry blossoms everywhere and the crowds to go along with them.

Some people were lucky to find great spots along the water.

Or made their own space in the paddleboats and rowboats:

By the end of the afternoon, we were tired and ready to head home, much like these guys:

Thanks for joining me on a fun day, Christina!