Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Zach and his new friends outside the zoo


Entrance to Ueno Zoo


Me with my new panda buddies

Here's the real panda, and he didn't seem very happy.

Sea otter! Don't worry---he wasn't trapped inside a small box. He could move between the box and his pond through the tube you see in the background.

This is called a dhole.

Mmmm---bones. Tasty.

Mom and Baby. You'd be snuggled together too if you were as cold as they were.

Japanese paparazzi. I was amazed at the photography equipment people were carrying around the zoo.

Awwww.

Click on the picture so you can read the sign. I couldn't believe it either!

This is called a Shoebill. I thought he was kind of cute, but Zach was deeply disturbed by him and thankful that the bird was in a cage. We didn't stay at this exhibit very long.

Ellen's translation: Don't feed the monkey oranges or tomatoes, or he'll get really sick and his belly will explode.

Ellen's translation: It's fun to play on the railing, and Mr. Bear will give you a great big handshake if you do.

My new giraffe pillow

Howdy! It's still cold here, but it's not snowing today. I forgot to mention that another reason why our house is so cold is that Japanese homes aren't insulated very well. So, even though our home is brand-new, we don't have a lot of protection from the elements. But, that's the way it goes, and in a few more months, I'll be talking about how hot it is.

We had a really fun weekend. Zach had the whole weekend off from work, and we signed up for another tour through the base. This time we went to the zoo in Ueno, which is in an area of Tokyo about an hour and half from the base. We had a blast seeing all the animals. It was chilly, of course, but the sun was out and the animals were cute. They had your usual selection of elephants, tigers, and giraffes, but they also had some animals we had never seen and some signage that made me double over laughing. I've posted some of the photos so you can see. My favorites are always the giraffes, and the zoo souvenir shop just happened to have pillows in the shape of them. I know what you're thinking, and no, it's not time for an intervention. Yet.