April 5, 2004
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Sakura 2004
These pictures were taken at Inagi Chuo Koen, translated as Inagi Central Park. It is not like Central Park in Schenectady, but more like a sports site with a track and a baseball diamond. Here we see the track ringed with cherry trees, first, about to bloom and then a week or so later.
Let's have a look at another local spot for viewing cherry trees. On Wednesdays there is a ladies meeting at church, and Lord and weather willing I like to travel the distance of two train stops by bike. I go straight up the street behind our building (straight up, almost literally, as I a have a huge hill to go over!) until I hit the Kotta River and then turn left and ride along the river. When I see the monorail tracks over the road I know that I am almost there! There is a long row of cherry trees lining the road along the river, making it a pleasant ride.
There were festive lanterns hanging at some portions of the river, and one could see many out for a walk under the pink trees.
The last monorail picture some of you may have seen before. It runs from Tachikawa to Tama Center, and this one is about to enter the Tama Center station.
The guy in this picture is taking his own picture with his cell phone. In 2004 the word Selfie has not been coined yet.
Let's visit Shinjuku Gyoen Garden next. It is located in the bustling city center of Shinjuku, of all places, and used to belong to the Imperial Family, but is now opened to the public. There is always something blooming here, so lets purchase our ticket. !
I sincerely hope that everyone understands that the Engrish on the ticket means that you are to insert it into the slot at the gate face up in the direction of the arrow. The garden office has been advised that the instructions on the ticket might possibly be less than clear, but I suppose that since the tickets are reusable, the confusion may continue for some time. Now that we are pointed face up in the right direction, let's go inside.
When we lived in Shinjuku, the Docomo building used to be one of my favorite topics to play with. By changing one's position relative to the building one can actually "move" it all over the city. It kind of reminds me of the Empire State Building.
Do you see the building submerged in this picture?
As can be imagined, I am not the only one taking pictures in the vicinity. When one notices a fellow camera freak concentrating on a particular subject, one cannot help but be curious and check the angle out; however, one must also avoid the notice of said camera freak, as the individual may not appreciate the pilfering of ideas. Now what was this guy aiming his cannon at? Ah, a cluster of doomed flowers - ah, fleeting life is ephemeral indeed. Gee, I was gonna take a picture of this puddle anyway!!
Here are some of the best shots of camerapersons from Gyoen cherry blossom seasons gone by. Please note the presence of the Docomo Building again. With all of these cameras around I am amazed that there are not any tripod duels.
And then there are analog means of recording the scenery... and the Docomo Building.
If God clothes the world that he made in such incredible beauty, will he not take much better care of us? See what an extravagant carpet He rolls out!
The petals may be falling, but there is still plenty of fun to be had! I loved the colors of the petals falling in the green chives. Yes, I taste tested them and they were definitely chives.
The fallen petals are beautiful when made to skitter and whirl about by the spring breezes. It is too bad that I cannot send moving pictures, because one does not notice the petals falling in still pictures. I tried to remedy this problem by grabbing a handful of pink props and sending them back into the air from which they had fallen. The effect is a bit overdone, but fun.
Let's take a rest on the park bench before continuing our walk.
I call the next picture Sakura Website.
This poor tree seems to believe that the fun is over, but it's far from the truth! (This scene is untouched and just screamed out to be taken.) There is still much interesting petal art left to enjoy if one takes a good look.
Here are some pictures of petals in ponds. First we see a cherry tree reflected in its own petals. Perhaps it is a bit surrealistic, but I like it. The fallen flowers in the next picture have been nudged into a collection at the water's edge. A carp swam through the small river just after I took the picture, but alas, the memory card had reached capacity.
More petals fallen here and there, by the pathside and upon the waters. Ain't the waterlily (ok, they are not really out yet) picture something out of Monet?
The duck picture is mine, but the other two are pictures that I wish that I had taken. They are from Yomiuri Shinbun (newspaper) and the boat pic was probably taken at the castle moat near Chidorigafuchi. I will go for this shot next year!
We made a trip to the zoo, and found the ultimate method for petal disposal and recycling. The monkeys seemed to enjoy the pink manna falling from the trees above. Am I missing something? I will just have to wait until next year to try some of this delicacy and find out.
