Autumn (Tokyo Studio)

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It’s Autumn equinox today (it must be the Vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere) and it’s a public holiday in Japan. Many people had the same idea – let’s go to Ueno Park. The park is large, housing many museums, shrines, and even a zoo. We got there around mid-morning and the queue to the Vermeer exhibition was already a mile long. Attendants were holding up signs that announced the approximate waiting time: 40 minutes – it was when we last looked.

Although forecasted to be 29 maximum the day turned out to be rather mild. Many families brought, decided to make a day of it, brought packed lunches and the like. Those who were not so well-prepared had to contend with takoyaki and okonomiyaki. Many also made use of the ample seatings within the museums for some quick cat-napping. As it was time to go, a balloon-shaping preformer was giving away his most amazingly shaped balloons to an enthusiastic crowd using a stone-paper-scissors method.