Day 8

We started today by going to the post office, and as we were walking out we saw a massive wasp-like creature on the ground just right outside their building. It was huge, but wasn't really going anywhere so we snapped a few pictures and went on our way. At the post office I realized my shoes were kind of bothering me so I decided to run back and change them. When I came back out, there were three men surrounding this wasp trying to kill it. One held a net over it, the other was spraying a bottle of bug spray on it, and the third had a rolled up newspaper and was mercilessly wacking this poor creature to it's death. Of course if Dietrich was there he would have just smashed it with his shoe, but it was funny to see the overkill, plus now we know how many Japanese it takes to kill a bug.

Then we were off to Ueno Zoo. It worked out much better without the rains and the crowds and it was really a neat zoo. We walked around seeing all of the animals and then Kym had to leave to pick Dietrich up at the airport. The girls and I hung around the zoo for awhile longer and found the petting zoo area. Olive was a little spooked when a rooster hopped right up over the fence she was standing at, but she got used to it and enjoyed petting and feeding the goats that were roaming around. Then we waited in line to see the panda bears munching bamboo. It was great fun though. Then we headed back to the apartment to await Dietrich's arrival. We were all super excited to see him and have him join in on our adventures.