So we visited Ueno today with Chris and Jacque. Ameyoko was packed even for a weekday. Ameyoko is a busy market street along the Yamanote line tracks between Okachimachi and Ueno Station, the site of a black market after World War Two. The name "Ameyoko" is a short form for "Ameya Yokocho" (candy store alley), as candies were traditionally sold there. Alternatively, "Ame" also stands for "America", because a lot of American products were available on the black market.

Today, various products such as clothes, bags, cosmetics, fresh fish, dried food and spices, sporting goods are sold at bargain prices along Ameyoko. Also lots of places to eat which is what we did.

We started off with Okonomiyaki and Monja which are Japanese style pizzas if you want to call it that. Immediately after that I had Chris try some donuts from Mr. Donuts, the biggest donut chain store in Japan. Our favorite is the Pon De Ring a donut that has a mochi mochi kinda feel and taste. We then visited the shrine in Ueno and went for some Anmitsu.

Anmitsu is a traditional Japanese dessert popular for many centuries.

It is made of small cubes of agar, a white translucent jelly made from seaweed. Anmitsu is usually served in a bowl with sweet azuki bean paste or "anko" (the "an" part of "anmitsu"), boiled beans, and a variety of fruits. The fruits include melon slices, preserved oranges, pieces of pineapples, canned fruit, and strawberries although it may vary from season to season, depending on availability. The anmitsu usually comes with a small pot of sweet black syrup, or "mitsu" (the "mitsu" part of "anmitsu") which one pours onto the jelly before eating. Anmitsu is usually eaten with a spoon and fork.

There are some variations of this dessert. Mitsumame are anmitsu without the bean paste, with the "mitsu" meaning syrup and the "mame" meaning beans. Cream Anmitsu are anmitsu with ice cream on top. There are also anmitsu with nata de coco or shiratama dango as toppings. Amitsu is a cold dessert, so it is often eaten on a hot summer day.  It wasn't a hot summer day but we ate it and loved it!