Tokyo gardens

Happy Golden Week! This week, Japan has 3 (or 4) holidays within 8 days, which we all appreciate very much. 

Boys Day windsocks at Tokyo Tower

Last Monday was Showa Day, celebrating the birthday of the previous Emperor. Yesterday was Constitution Memorial Day. According to the internet, today is Greenery Day, which I wasn’t really aware of since it didn’t result in a day off work. And tomorrow (observed on Monday) is Children’s Day – aka Boy’s Day, because they only celebrate boys on that day. (There’s another day where they celebrate girls.) I can't remember why, but the fish windsocks are a symbol of Boys Day in Japan. They've been out for a few weeks now. 

Because of all of these holidays, a lot of Japanese travel during this week. Since I don’t like hanging at airports or on the roads with tons and tons of people, I’m sticking close to home.

Last weekend, I went to Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens. The garden is right next to the Tokyo Dome and dates back to 1629. It’s been designated as an important historical asset and site of special historical significance. 

There’s a large central pond with a turtle-shaped island in the middle, symbolizing longevity. 

The park is a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city. A lot of it was done in a Chinese style.  

Because the flowers were all early this year, it was towards the end of a lot of the flowers. I certainly need to get back in the fall and next spring.

There are tons of azalea bushes, cherry trees, iris plots, some wisteria trellises, plus koi and ducks and turtles swimming in ponds. A lot of birdwatchers were lined up with huge telephoto lenses to take pictures of birds out on the island. It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. 

  

Yesterday, a friend and I tried to go to a French and Spanish classical music festival, but despite the fact that there were tons of concerts in a number of large venues, they were almost entirely sold out. Next year, we’ll buy tickets in advance! 

So we walked to Hibiya Park instead. I went to a small section of the park once before, but it was before all of the flowers came out. This time, I walked all over the park, and saw tons of pretty flowers and greenery.

Life imitated art with the bird near the fountain.

And while looking at all of the turtles on a small island, we saw a cat walking very carefully along the stone wall.

I am certainly enjoying Spring and the many gardens in Tokyo!