Fresh green and spring flowers @ Jindai Botanical Gardens: April 13, 2014

Following yesterday, I had a walk to enjoy spring flowers and plants.

I visited Jindai Botanical Gardens in Chofu City, western Tokyo, and walked down (southward) along Nogawa River to Setagaya ward.

The forest of the botanical gardens was colored in fresh green. New leaves were rapidly growing in the trees. Birds sand and butterflies flied there.

Various spring flowers, including late-blooming cherry, azalea, violet, dandelion, and dogwood, were open. The combination of fresh green, dark green, pink, red, yellow and white colors were impressive.

The banks of Nogawa River were covered with rapeseed flowers. Walking in the area made me happy.

Fresh green @ Setagaya walking paths and Gotokuji Temple：April 12, 2014

Finishing cherry blossom season, Tokyo has entered into the fresh green season.

It was a beautiful day today. The sunshine was bright. I had a walk along walking paths in Setagaya ward and visited Gotokuji Temple.

Late-blooming cherry was open in the path. People enjoyed walks there. 

New leaves started to appear in Tulip trees. Leaves were only five to ten centimeters large. It will grow to 20-30 cm soon.

There were many maples trees with fresh green leaves in Gotokuji Temple.

I found several visitors, including a group, in the temple.

It is spring.

Cherry blossom @ Chidorigafuchi, Imperial Palace: April 7, 2014

Tokyo is in cherry blossom season.

Its peak was last weekend (April 4-6), but it was still beautiful today. I visited Chidorigafuchi of the Imperial Palace.

Cherry flowers began to fall and leaves started to grow. The sky was blue and the air was fresh.

Many people were in small boats in the moat. Others were walking on the bank and taking pictures.

Only eastern gardens of the Imperial Palace are open to the public and western parts are closed. A cherry street in the western gardens is open to the public between April 4 and 8 this year for the first time in history. People are making long line to enter the site.

I was too busy to join the queue in the weekend.

Shenzhen : March 17-19, 2014 (Off off Tokyo)

I had a business trip to Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China.

The development of the city in the last 34 years, after it became China’s first special economic zone in 1980, is remarkable. It now has about 15 million people (including surrounding areas) and its par capita income is highest among the country’s major cities.

I did not have enough time to walk around the city, but I stopped at several interesting spots.

I had a dinner at a restaurant on a hill in Shekou, a ferry port in the western area of the city. Pictures of the old days (in the 1980s and 90s) were displayed. Deng Xiaoping’s pictures and words were impressive.

I visited Shekou about 30 years ago. Open air markets and shops were unsanitary. The situation has been completely changed.

I stayed in a hotel in the Mission Hills golf resort in the northern part of the city. They can play the games even in the night. Golf is becoming popular in the country.

I passed Hong Kong - China border by car. Check is made by both China and Hong Kong officials. Cards were making long lines.

Spring flowers @Roka Park: March 9, 2014

Unseasonable cold days continue in Tokyo as cold wave stays over Japan.  Still, the day is becoming longer and it is getting brighter.

I visited Roka Park in Setagaya Ward.

Many trees were still bald, but spring flowers started to open. Rape seed flower was full open.

Spring is around the corner.

Snow & Election: Feb. 9, 2014

Tokyo had the heaviest snow in 45 years last night. The amount of snowfall was 27 cm. Traffic system was paralyzed. Some people were injured in a fall.

The roads were covered with snow in the following morning.

People clear away the snow from the sidewalks of main roads. The snow remained in the walking passes even in the afternoon.

We had an election of Tokyo Metropolitan Government governor. People moved carefully to the voting stations. I voted in an elementary school.

Former Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe, backed by the ruling LDP and Komei Party, defeated former PM Morihiro Hosokawa, who opposed to resumption of nuclear stations in the country, and other candidates. The new governor is expected to host the Olympic Games in 2020.

Traditional houses in Minka-en @ Ikuta Ryokuchi: Feb. 2, 2014

It is still cold, but signs of spring are seen here and there. Sunshine hours are getting longer and the sunlight is getting brighter.

I visited Nihon Minka-en, or an open-air museum of Japan’s traditional houses, in Ikuta Ryokuchi (green zone) in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture.

About 30 houses are there. Most of them were built in the Edo, Meiji and Taisho era (more than 80 years ago) in Tohoku (northern Japan), Hokuriku (Sea of Japan coastal area), Kanto (around Tokyo) and other areas in Japan. They have been moved from original places to the museum.

There are several gassho-zukuri houses. They are from Gifu-Toyama boarder area, where they have heavy snow. The houses have steep roofs so that the snow easily drops from the house. The roof is made with straws.

Most houses have fireplaces inside. People took meals and had communications around the fireplaces.

There spreads woods outside the park. They include a wood of Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood). People enjoyed walks with their dogs.

They also have a museum of Taro Okamoto (1911-96), a famous modern artist who was born in Kawasaki City. His impressive works were displayed.

Cleaning a pond＠ Inokashira Park: Jan. 26, 2014

Cleaning up of a big pond is, of course, a hectic job. It is now under way in Inokashira Park in western Tokyo. I visited there.

The pond was about to dry up. The bottom had appeared for the most part of the pond.

Hundreds of boats were on the pond when it had water (see the picture taken in May, 2010). 

Duck boats were placed in lines on the dry-up pond bottom today. Other boats were on the land. 

Bicycles, chairs and other junks were found (oh my god!). It was difficult to refrain from making any comment on the moral of people (^^).

Fish, turtle and other water creatures were captured. They are sorted and some of them were displayed to public.

Some creatures are Japanese origin whereas others are foreign origin. Aliens, such as black bass and snapping turtles, have become dominant in the pond, which would jeopardize the lives of Japanese-origin fish and other water creatures.

The administration plans to return only Japanese-origin creatures to the pond after cleaning. It is to keep original ecological system.

The pond was clean and people took drinking water through aqueduct from Inokashira pond in the Edo era. It was still clean and people could see the bottle 50 years ago. It became dirty after 1960s.

The cleaning was planned to recover the clean water and original eco system.

A cold winter day @ Hanegi Park: Jan. 19, 2014

This winter is colder than usual this year. The temperature usually goes down under zero degree even in Tokyo. TV reports news of heavy snow and big chills from northern part of Japan.

I had walk in the cold weather. The north wind was strong.

There are gingko trees, tulip trees and other tall trees in Hanegi Park. All such trees have no leaves in this season. The branches moved in the cold wind.

Some Japanese apricot (Ume) started to open its flowers. The sign of spring appeared in the midst of cold winter.

A Walk of an hour was enough as it was so cold.

Must-visit places in Taipai and surrounding areas (off off Tokyo): Dec 30, 2013- Jan. 2, 2014

I saw the life of Taiwanese people and the faces of towns during my walks in Taipei (see Life and Town of Taipei). I also visited must-visit places for tourists.

Presidential Office and other government buildings gather in the center of the city. 228 Peace Park locates in the same district.

Taiwan’s complicated history lies behind such facilities. They include the conflict with mainland China (under Communist Party), the Chinese Nationalist Party's takeover of the island in 1949, and  the Party's suppression against local Taiwanese in 1947.

The National Palace Museum, north from central Taipei, shows ceramics, writings, art crafts and other collections from the Forbidden City in Beijing. They were originally the collected by the emperors of Qing dynasty. The Nationalist Party brought them from Beijing to Taipei when they fled from the mainland.

Maokong in the southeasten Taipei is a nature-rich mountain. A ropeway links the bottom and top of the mountain. 

Hiking footways run around the mountain.

Taipei Zoo has collections of butterflies along with many other animals and birds.

Jiufen is about 30 kilometers east from Taipei. It is one of the most famous tourism spot in the suburb of Taipei. It was an old mining town flourished in the early 20^th century, and became a deserted town when the gold was exhausted. It became famous after a famous movie “A City of Sadness” was taken here in 1989.

The village’s small street was over crowded with tourist.