Around seven in the morning I took the Yamanote Line to visit Yoyogi Park. It had been on my bucket list for a while and I was really looking forward to the walk. When I got off at Yoyogi Station, I realised I had actually been there before during my visit to Shinjuku Gyoen. In hindsight it would have been smarter to get off at Harajuku Station, which is closer to one of the entrances of the park, but I have never really liked that part of Tokyo very much. Instead, I walked from Yoyogi Station in the general direction of the park.
The sky was bright blue and the weather was improving day by day. Along the way I stopped at one of Japan’s wonderful vending machines for a coffee. These machines offer just about anything you could wish for, but for me it was all about the Golden Drip coffee, one of the many brands you can find all over Japan.
Walking through the streets around the park, I noticed this was clearly a more expensive neighbourhood. The houses were large, the cars looked luxurious and almost every home had its own private parking space. I also passed quite a few sporty-looking people out for a morning run, many of them non-Japanese. It felt like an area where a lot of expats might be living.
When I finally arrived at the park around 7:30, I discovered that the entrance near me was still closed and would only open at 9. I did not feel like waiting around or walking around the park to find the main entrance, so I continued wandering through the area. After finding another vending machine — this time one with a disposal bin for my empty can — I headed back into the metro and made my way to Ueno.
The night before, while I was at Tagen, I had somehow managed to lose my Pasmo card. Luckily my drummer had messaged me to say it had been found, and I planned to pick it up around noon. Since I still had plenty of time, I got off at Ueno Station and walked into Ueno Park.
As I crossed the large square near the museums and library, I randomly bumped into Dustin Brown. I knew he had arrived in Japan that morning, but we had not made any plans to meet before the gig at Naru, so it was a completely unexpected encounter.
Dustin has been to Japan many times and knows a lot about the country. He suggested we visit the Tokyo National Museum, located inside Ueno Park. The museum complex is dedicated to Japanese art and antiquities, along with collections from other Asian countries.
Words are never the best way to describe art, so I included some extra photos I took inside the museum, which was allowed. The entrance ticket cost 1000 yen and gave access to several buildings, including the library. In the end we only visited the Tokyo National Museum itself, as the collection was already extensive enough to fill several hours.
Around 11:40 I said goodbye to Dustin and took the metro to Tagen to retrieve my Pasmo card. I have both a Pasmo and a Suica card, but it was nice to get the Pasmo back, especially since there was still money on it. After picking it up, I took the Sakura Tram back to Otsuka — a short but enjoyable ride on Tokyo’s last remaining tram line.
