In the Middle of a Pond

Can you tell what this is for? Click on the photo to enlarge it. This photo was taken at Fuchunomori Park.

Eye Sculpture at Fuchunomori Park

To get a better look, click to enlarge the picture. Click here for more about Fuchunomori Park.

Some of the Sights at Funchunomori Park

These are some of the things I saw today at Fuchunomori Park. A wading stream. It's very popular with small children. Little Brother and Big Sister used to love playing here.

A wading pool with fountains. There were other kinds of fountains. This is a fun place, too.

A dead willow tree. There are many other trees in the park. We used to sit under this one. It is near the playground.

This is the willow's trunk. It is covered with moss. This tree is old. Sad to see it's dead. Or is it? Did it just lose its leaves early? Other trees were marked for pruning or cutting. This one wasn't tagged.

On the School Playground

This is a sprinkler that is used when the school playground is too dry and dusty. There is a gutter behind it. See the metal grate over it? The gutter is probably for water to run off during the rainy season.

The label on the sprinkler says "spray gun" in katakana, the script for foreign words. I've never seen a sprinkler anywhere else in Japan. Lawns of grass are rare. Parks have lawns but I've never seen a sprinkler. Of course, we're usually gone in the hottest summer month (August).

I took these pictures yesterday on Sports Day. The night before the event there was water standing in the field. It was incredibly dried up and dusty during the event. It was also windy. They didn't spray the area, though.

Bouncing at Showa Kinen Koen

There are many fun things to do at Showa Kinen Koen, Showa Memorial Park. Here is one of them. See that big white blob in the background? It's a place to bounce. By the time we got there, it was closed. We were too busy doing other things. Besides we got there late in the day. It's a good thing we went yesterday. Today is a rainy day.

Click on the picture to enlarge. There is a person in a blue shirt on the left. That will give you an idea how big it is.

Dragon Sand Mountain at Showa Kinen Koen

There were big dragons to climb

and slide down at Showa Kinen Koen, Showa Memorial Park.

They were made out of concrete and pieces of pottery, shells, marbles and stones.

The pavement leading to the Dragon Sand Mountain had round and square tiles decorated by children.

More Climbing at Showa Kinen Koen

Near the Dragon Sand Mountain, there was this replica of a Mayan Temple. There were food stalls all around, but in this picture they were closing and cleaning up.

There was also a grassy knoll. That's a bench made out of pieces of pottery or tile.

There were stairs up the grassy knoll. At the top of the stairs was a huge replica of the moon. You can walk around the moon and look out on the park.

There were several small bubbles along the railing of the stairs. This one had two squirrels eating.

Showa Kinen Koen

More Fun Things to Do at Showa Kinen Koen

Click to enlarge and you may be able to see children playing in this stream. It is really a flowing fountain, I guess. It is made out of concrete and pebbles. It was a really hot day and this was a cool place to sit.

This is the same stream at another angle. Everyone has gone.

This is putt-putt golf. No big animals or windmills. Just a course of mounds and shrubs.

This little train was available to go around the park.

Showa Kinen Koen

Late Bloom

While sitting under this tree, we looked up to find

cherry blossoms! Rather late and alone and unusual. At least we had never seen a clump of blossoms on a tree full of green leaves before.
Showa Kinen Koen

Poppy Fields at Showa Kinen Koen

This is what I was looking for.

Fields of poppies.

It's nice to see big fields of the same kind of flowers.

Showa Kinen Koen is a big park, isn't it?

Wheat Field at Showa Kinen Koen

This was part of the flower garden near the entrance.

A crop circle?

Showa Kinen Koen

Concrete River

This river was near the entrance of Showa Kinen Koen. Note that some of it has a concrete bottom. And there's a door in the riverbank!

On Our Way Out of the City

We have a Tokyo address, but I consider these parts "the city". It is definitely more urban than our area. I took these pictures as we made our way back home. I'll post other pictures of our stops along the way.


This is the top of Tokyo Tower.


The National Theater.


A building in Yotsuya, Tokyo.


Hibiya Park. If you want to see or sit on grass, you have to go to a park. Lawns are not common here.