Even Steven

I had read online that the Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival) was going on at Meiji Jingu Shrine today. So I headed over there around noon hoping to see some cute little girls dressed up being paraded around the shrine with their parents. I arrived. No kids. No dolls. No festival.
Must be further into the shrine area, I thought. I walked. And I walked.

I walked all the way around the shrine. I saw some lanterns.
I saw a wedding march.... but no kids, no dolls, no festivals. Confused, I went back to the entrance of the shrine where a sign said that the festivities were TOMORROW. Alexis Travel Tip # 811: Do not trust the Japanese tourism websites.

I wandered around the area for a while and happened upon a market in Yoyogi Park.


And then just as I was about to leave the park, Jay-Z started blaring from the stage area and some crazily dressed people came out from the sides of the stage. An impromptu fashion show! Fantastic! This is not the first impromptu fashion show that I have been to in Tokyo.
The theme was "Peace Virus" but once the music switched to Marilyn Mansion, I decided that I had had enough.
Someone had told me that Ueno Park had lovely plum blossoms at this time of year so I hopped on the subway to take the 30 minute ride to the other side of Tokyo. I got off the train. No plum blossoms. I walked into the park. No plum blossoms. I walked AROUND the park and then off in the distance, a flash of pink caught my eye! PLUM BLOSSOMS! Fantastic, I thought. I headed over in their direction only to find FOUR lone plum trees with approximately 10 million Japanese people in front of these poor lone trees taking pictures of them with their cell phones. I am totally unimpressed. Any random neighborhood in Kanazawa has more plum blossoms than this, I think to myself.

Still the afternoon is not lost because even though plum blossoms are few and far between, the park has a nice bird sanctuary.

And while I generally prefer my ducks yellow and rubber, I still got a kick out of watching them. I mean, who doesn't like a few ducks to brighten an otherwise odd afternoon?
No festival but there was an impromptu fashion show. No plum blossoms but there were ducks. You win some, you lose some. Overall, even Steven.