rain

Wet wet wet here in Tokyo today. Everybody has an umbrella! There are places to hang them when you wash your hands, stands outside all the shops, and at the National Museum there were special lockers (see photo above).
Today we met up with Hiroko, Kanako and Hitoshi. I became penfriends with Hiroko 21 years ago and we have exchanged many, many letters. 7 years ago, she wrote to say that she and her children were coming to visit the UK. We met up for a day in Edinburgh and got on so well. I always dreamed of a return visit to Japan, but doubted I would ever be able to go... but here we are, meeting up for the second time, and once again getting on so well. Sadly to say goodbye.
We walked around Ueno, seeing the museums and art galleries, and a cemetery where we saw the gravestones of the last shogun. We also had lunch in a vegan restaurant, and dinner at a vegan ramen cafe. As Sarah tells me, you can find pretty much everything in Tokyo.