Meguro, Rinshinomori Park: Oct. 26, 2014

Meguro is one of the railway terminal stations in western Tokyo. Residential areas spread behind commercial district. I visited there today.

There was a hippodrome the early 20th century there. The memory of the institution remains. Old tracks are now used as streets.

A forestry research center was built in the area about 115 years ago. It has turned into “Rinshinomori Park”. The park was woody. I found many tall trees and various kind of grasses.

It was the late 20^th century when people started to celebrate (widely) Halloween in Japan. It was Halloween weekend. I found many kid in Halloween costumes.

I also visited the Parasitological Museum. The museum says it is the only such facility in the world. Various kinds of parasites were displayed and the 8.8 meter long tapeworm was especially impressive.

Mt. Takao: Oct. 25, 2014

Autumn deepens. The leaves started to turn the colors.

It was a fine day today and I visited Mr. Takao, in western Tokyo. It is the most popular mountain in Tokyo Metropolitan area.

The sky was blue and the air was fresh. There were many visitors as often the case at this season.

The autumn color has just begun. Some maple trees had red leaves while many other trees remained green.

There are many mountains around Mt. Takao. The scene from the top was beautiful (top picture).

There were many foreign visitors and I heard Chinese, Korean, Russian, English and other languages. The mountain is becoming more and more international.

Community event @Hanegi Park: Oct. 12, 2014

Traditional autumn festivals at shrines are seasonal fun for Japanese. We have more. There are various community festivals and events, too.

I visited an event titled “zakkyo festival” (various events in-one-place festival) held in the Hanegi Park, in Setagaya ward.

Music, dance and many other performances were played. Various NGOs and NPOs, including organizations aiming supports for the disabled, held their exhibitions.

Pottery creators from quake-hit Fukushima Prefecture opened stalls. Importers of Asian and African good also opened stalls.

Some events attracted young people while some were not popular. I saw various aspects of social and cultural activities there.