Ueno Zoo

Well, previously I wrote about getting to and from the zoo, but nothing about the zoo. To be honest we were pleasantly surprised by the zoo. The only other Japanese zoo we've been to is the Sapporo Zoo and even though the kids loved it, we felt like calling the RSPCA (animal welfare association in Australia) because the animals looked very unhappy. BUT Ueno Zoo was greener and by and large the animals looked happier. We even found some Australian animals beyond the kangaroos. A couple of emus with evil eyes. Kangaroo rat, fruit bats and a couple of others I've already forgotten. The gorilla was a great one. We were looking at them through glass, when this guy hopped up and came right over to us and sat down, looking cheekily at our boys. I cannot believe I actually got this photo. The whole zoo experience, though, was a reminder of how energetic our three boys are. Our Japanese friends have two children, a girl just a little younger than our eldest and a boy just a little older than our youngest. Our boys outran them all the way. They were looking a tad ragged at the end of the day (so were we). This kind of comparison helps us feel that our tiredness at looking after our mob day after day is legitimate :-)