To save money, the eight of us ended up eating at the hotel for breakfast.  It was cheap, though I still don't know if it was worth it.  All I had was a couple pieces of toast.  I've gotten used to eating less, though, so I guess it was enough for me.

We saw the Tokyo Imperial Palace today.  I hate to say it, but I wasn't really impressed.  I think it's because there was less history there than the one in Kyoto and many of the buildings were more modernized.  I love the look of the older buildings at the Kyoto Palace.  And to be fair, when it comes down to history, Kyoto was the capital of Japan for much longer than Tokyo.  Tokyo's only been the capital since 1868.  Also, our tour was in Japanese.  We were given English audio tapes to listen too, but it just didn't do it for me.  I was distracted by listening to the Japanese tour guide.  It was still cool to see the palace, and at least I can say I did see it.  I enjoyed the one in Kyoto much more, though.

Next, we went to Ueno Park and saw a statue dedicated to the "last samurai."  No, not Tom Cruise's "last samurai."  This guy was real.  Saigo Takamori. The statue is positioned on the hill so he is looking over Ueno, like he is still guarding it.  He had committed seppuku after the battle on Ueno Hill.  Right behind him is a monument dedicated to the other samurai who had died there during the battle.  It is also where they are buried.  A sign at the site said, "There was a war called the Ueno War around here in May 15, 1868.  It delimited Edo era and Meiji Restoration.  In this war, a soldier group of Tokugawa persons (old government) named Shogi-tai fought against the army of the new government and was defeated.  Okisato Ogawa and his comrades, who were the survivors of Shogi-tai, obtained the permission of the Meiji government at tlast in 1874 and built the graveyard of killed soldiers.  Afterwards, the graveyard of Shogi-tai was preserved by the Ogawa clan for over 120 years and succeeded by Tokyo Metropolitan government in 2003.  We learn the history of the Ueno War thanks to such an effort now."  I admit, I took a picture of the sign so I could copy the information (English translations aren't always great over here).

We separated for lunch and Franco, Kristen and I went to this little cafe for sandwiches.  It was a nice change from what we've been eating.  Then I got green tea ice cream, which I was very excited about!  It was delicious.  

We all met back up at Ueno Park and while walking through it, we saw cherry blossoms!  Most of the trees weren't in bloom yet (we are about two weeks early for that), but there were two trees that were already getting blossoms on them!  I was so happy we got to see a little bit.  We all stopped to take pictures, and there were these cute little green birds sitting in the tree.  It's a life goal of mine to go to a cherry blossom festival in Japan, so I'll just have to go back, but I'm glad I at least saw some blossoms on this trip!

Next we went to the Tokyo National Museum, which had all kinds of artifacts and artwork in it.  My inner geek was flailing, especially when I got to the anthropology wing!  There were tools, jewelry, pottery and other artifacts from the Jomon period!   That may have been my favorite part.  We also walked by a section with samurai blades, which I enjoyed, as well.  I liked looking at the etchings on some of the blades and since I have a basic idea on how those blades are made, I think it just made me like it even more.  I wish we could have had more time there.  If I lived in Tokyo, I could totally see myself going and spending an entire day there!  Behind the museum was a garden that Becky, Franco and I checked out together.

We then went to Asakusa, where we all split up.  Dr H brought us to the entrance of a shrine and said that from that point on, we could do whatever we wanted in Tokyo, he didn't have anything planned for us.  Which is what always happens on this trip.  Once you hit Tokyo, you have a few stops with Dr. H and then you're on your own.  The other students and I were planning on going to Akiabara, so I had assumed we would at least stay together.  But at this particular shrine, there is a huge marketplace at the entrance and as soon as we started to go through the market, Kristen and I were separated from the others.  Eric found us a couple minutes later, but in doing so, he separated himself from the rest of the group.  So we looked at some shops, I got a Hello Kitty doll wearing a kimono, and we went to the shrine.  On the way back into the market, by some crazy miracle, we bumped into Tim, and then a few minutes later, the rest of the group.  We decided we'd meet at the shrine's entrance in an hour and then continued to go through shops.  I bought a collection of sake cups to give to friends as souvenirs and a kimono!  It's not a real kimono, it's made out of polyester, not silk.  It's still pretty, though. 

So after going through the market, we all met up again and went to Akiabara.  But while we were walking through the city, Becky, Kristen and I somehow got separated by the others.  Akiabara is known for having electronics and also for being the place for anime fans.  The three of us didn't really know much about it though, in knowing where we should check things out.  So we just wandered for a little bit, went into an anime store, and then left.  

When the three of us got back to Ikebukuro, we went to check out a place called Sunshine City, which is basically this huge mall with apartments, an aquarium, and a theme park in it.  We just walked a few floors though because we were tired.  I did get to go into a Hello Kitty store!