Oniko's Travel Diary: The Three Mountains (August 5-31, 1998) |
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Sunday August 30th, 1998
I got an early start today because I was itching to see if the ATM was working yet, and also wanted to examine the map I noticed last night that had been added to the machine since I was last in the area... it seemed to indicate a second location that might be another viable ATM machine for my American card. The second possible machine should be in Shimbashi ward, which is on the JR Yamanote line, if I read the map right; but I didn't have to go look for it because the Ikebukuro ATM was coughing up money again. Now I had the money to mail off packages... as well as the money to buy more stuff to mail off!
I headed to Ueno ward to waste the day. Ueno is famous for it's park, which includes a zoo, museum, temple complex, and lake that you can boat on and fish in... but it's mostly known for the beautiful cherry trees that blanket the park in pink petals every summer. I, however, wasn't there to visit the park.
UPDATE 2002: The name of this shopping district is the "Ameya-yokochou", often shortened to just "Ame-yoko". The market is said to have first developed during American occupation, when this area was the center for black market sales of American goods. The name seems to translate to "candy-shop alley", and some say that this is because candy was a big black market item; others think that the Ame in Ame-ya is short for "American", making the name for the place mean "American-shop alley". Take your pick, eh? |
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