Though I’ve been busy for quite some time, about a week ago on a fairly nice, warm day I went to Ueno Zoo for the first time. Though more specifically I ought to say I went to Ueno. Of course if I went just to Ueno I might have a better reaction than I had.
So upon arrival I noticed that Ueno was indeed quite a hip place. Lots of museums, exhibits, cool art, sculptures and architecture, lots of good times and amusement for a very family-oriented or couple-oriented atmosphere. So, I kind of had expectations for the zoo. Not to mention expectations from long before. I had heard so much about Ueno Zoo (English link at the bottom left), and especially considering it was in Tokyo I kind of expected it to be a pretty world class place. And yet I was sorely disappointed…
There were plenty of exhibits and different animals, though definitely a majority were small mammals and reptiles in buildings. On the outside they had the usual large animal exhibits – monkeys, tigers, lions, elephants, giraffe, zebras, etc. But tons more of what I guess I might consider farm animals in the US – lots of goats, sheep and roosters. I think from that alone I began to judge the place a bit more harshly. As I walked around I began to realize the size of the place was quite small, understandable considering it’s stuck in the middle of a huge metropolis. Most of the large animals weren’t even out to be seen, not sure why. And to be honest, even so I’m kind of happy I didn’t see them. The living areas for most of them were so small I might have felt sad for them. On top of that the zoo felt dirty and not so well maintained. It seemed basically from about anywhere in the zoo you could look right outside the fence and see some sort of trashy row of apartments or something from the backside where all the trash lies in the alleys. I guess the places I’ve been to in the US (Rolling Hills Refuge) just seem like such better examples of truly amazing zoos than the Ueno Zoo. Still it had a reputation to keep for being so recommended, but it just faded in my eyes. Then again, perhaps I’m just not enough of a kid anymore to enjoy zoos.
After a somewhat quick run through the zoo, especially attributed to boredom, I found myself walking through some amazing amounts of temples and shrines and park areas around a large pond. Very beautiful area and amazing cultural interest in addition to the previously mentioned museums, arts, and such. It definitely rekindled my desire to return to Ueno one day at least for the chance to see all of those many other places and things.
Sorry for the lack of pictures and interesting read today. I’ll be trying to get up another post with pictures before I leave on February 4th for my big trip to Kyoto. Also before that I have two serious papers to knock off. They’re siphoning my brain!
Writing from Koganei, Tokyo, Japan | February 1, 2009
