Cloudy with chance of heavy showers

Woke to a grey morning (May grey in Japan?) and decided to have a quieter day than yesterday. So I headed for the Suginami Animation Museum. From the bus, there is a shady garden path and to the right is a beautiful, very understated shrine. The grounds are elegant simplicity and there were only 2 people there. After drinking in the peaceful surroundings, I turned left toward modern life once more. The Animation Museum is an odd modern concoction with funny cartoons on the front. I recognized most of the characters immediately and made my way into a gleaming foyer - completely devoid of any life. With some trepidation I ventured up the stairs, fearing just a little there was supposed to be a receptionist or someone who just didn't catch the intruder. On the third floor I found it - a small wonderland of animation creativity. The young woman at the desk was delighted to see someone - anyone - and bade me enter. Clearly the museum gets school groups who descend en masse, but not today. There were endless loop videos explaining how animation is done by computer and by handrawn cels. I always knew it was complicated, but had no idea how much work went into every detail. It was fascinating watching the colorist come up with just the perfect shades of wolf's hair for a short sequence; or how cels are layered just so to create seamless action and depth.

There were three desks set up just as they would be for an artist and from the pictures, I got the sense these were famous animators who have died. Don't take my word for that though, as everything was in Japanese.

It was hard to leave such a magical place, and I decided to walk back to the subway station rather than take the bus. I'm so glad I did. There was a gallery opening of handwoven kasuri pieces. The gallery was maybe the size of AK's and my cubicles combined, and everything in it was exquisite. The designer was there - a gorgeous young woman who blushed and laughed when I said her English was excellent (it was). She was so gracious and showed me everything, answered questions and wanted to know a bit about me too. It is serendipitous moments like that which make me glad I like to walk neighborhoods rather than take buses all the time.

The sky was darkening with ominous clouds, and I thought about calling it a day. At Uneno Station I suddenly changed my mind and dove into the crowds of the large park which houses the National Museum, the Science Museum, a few other museums and the Ueno Zoo. I checked out the Science Museum with the enormous blue whale in front, because they were having a special exhibit of jewelry made from coral. Breathtaking stuff.

Still working on the theory it was not going to rain on my parade, I walked over to the zoo. I normally am not a fan of zoos - even really superb ones. Ueno boasts 2 Giant Pandas and I confess curiosity took over. So I dutifully queued up to look at the very dirty rear end on one sleeping in the back of his enclosure. The other one was also sleeping, but chose to wake up, scratch himself and prop his head on his hand like a pin-up. Jack Black in the Panda movies came instantly to mind. And then just as quickly I tried to erase that image.
I managed to get a very poor picture and you really have to hunt for the panda.

The rest of the zoo was sadder than most international zoos. The enclosures are too small and not animal friendly. The animals just looked sad. And the red pandas, which was the only other reason I visited, weren't home.

Beating a retreat was a smart move as it began to sprinkle. I got to the subway just in time for the heavens to open up in torrents of rain. No one seemed phased - umbrellas popped up out of nowhere. Guess it's common here. Once on the train, I just headed back to the hotel, and the second I poked my head gingerly out the station door, the rain stopped. Lucky!

Tomorrow is the real reason Icame to Japan in the first place. The Ghibli Museum. There are no cameras allowed which grieves me, so there won't be any pix of the REAL magic kingdom. And pray for a clear day. OK, I'll settle for cloudy - just no rain.