Zoo!

We have so much free time since our orientation class ended and school doesn't start until Friday (9/23)! Trying to make the most of all this free time, today we went to the Ueno Park Zoo with some of the Japanese buddies. The entrance fee is surprisingly cheap for a zoo, 600Yen which is about $7 or $8. 

The elephants were so sweet! All I could think about was the book Water For Elephants

One of the zoo keepers was using the broom to brush off the dirt and dust, and the elephant just kept rolling over for a belly rub.

 さるの山 (saru no yama) Monkey Mountain!

poor little guy had no privacy

The longest line in the zoo was for the giant panda exhibit. You kind of get shuffled into two lines that snake around the building, one line was for families and the other was for foreigners and people without children. 

There were two giant pandas from China, named Riri and Shinshin, can't remember which one this is. 

Lots of cafes in the zoo featured panda shaped items.. panda cake, panda burgers, panda pancakes, etc.