Lucky me I had another day with Mr. K and Mrs. N. As it is perfect timing with all the blooming trees and plans it was decided to have a hanami (flower viewing picnic) at the World Expo '70 Park. I'm not overly familiar with all of the expo centers and why they had them a while back. Though I now know of 2! (The first one I knew of was largely thanks to Men In Black the movie. I'm bad with history and especially events.)
Tulips are quite popular and as they bloom early in spring. They're out in force.
I do enjoy the ones all alone.
They need a little attention too.
The weather was probably a little sub optimal. A cold front had come in and some rain was following. Though it never dumped buckets of water on us and remained an occasional light drizzle. It did manage to keep the crowds down some. Where the cherry blossoms only last around a week everybody is out to see them and partake in a hanami.
To commemorate the expo a statue was built. Taiyo-no-to or tower of the sun is a very big and.. interesting statue. I'm still not entirely sure what I think of it. Though "odd" does come to mind first most of the time. I'm not alone in this feeling either from the sounds of things. Though it has become an accepted and liked part of the area!
If a very interesting part.
They were super kind and bought me a Takoyaki to try. It is a local treat. Tako (octopus) is put inside these little balls and has the same sauce as okonomiyaki. They're quite good! Though you need to be careful with the amount of heat you'll find inside.
Closer shot. And speaking of heat, an outsider observation while I'm thinking about it. I don't know if I'm a pansy (ok I probably am) or Japanese people have developed some resistance to it. But food is served soooooo hot here. I can't eat or drink things for 10 minutes while I let them cool down. I'm probably doing something wrong!
A market had been set up selling local goods to all the people bound to show up today. Little bits of food but a whole lot of house hold convenience items. Cups, mugs, tea pots, tea cups, chopsticks, etc etc. Everything you you could want for a kitchen!
Racoon bears are common in japan and good luck. I've seen them around before but thanks to Mr. K and Mrs. N I now know what the statues are! I had no idea what they were when I first saw them... I'll need to visit a zoo so I can see a live racoon bear too.
I had never seen ones so big..
I was tempted to stick my finger in but with as big as they are I decided against it. No need for a headline:
Man loses finger to fish due to curiosity. Fish now weighs more and has developed a taste for humans. Beware the man eating fish.
It's a nice park with beautiful gardens. When I come back some day I think I'll rent a car and go out away from the cities. I love seeing the plants blooming but to be lost in a jungle out by myself finding things like this would be a lot of fun.
I was thinking today that I should really try and get more shots of people and the area. Not just flowers and plants. I'll try to do better with that! Plants you don't have to ask if you can take their photo and they're always willing to co-operate.
The happy couple! They're so fun together. #1 team. I think they should go on a road trip together and record it. They operate quite well as a navigational team!
Mrs. N is such a sweet lady. I know my mother would love her and they have a whole lot in common!
The last of the plum blossoms. Rest in peace my friend.
There was an area selling plants where I found this one. Really cool bloom.
Now time for the hanami! Look what Mrs. N made.
Ta-da!
A yummy yummy bento. It was super good! They are both very good hosts and made sure I ate a lot. All of my veggies too, like a good boy! I will miss having the seaweed you can find in Japan once I go home. For one it is so much better tasting and fresh. And for another you can get seasoned ones such as soy sauce which are really good. I could eat that by itself happily.
Mrs. K is really so sweet. She was out there freezing herself in the cold and rain to give a silly american an experience. She has a heart of gold and a humor to match. She's just fun and enjoyable to be around! Always happy to explain something I didn't know about and has taught me so much. Such a good person. And seems to always be happy too! If I were able to give gold medals for awesomeness, she'd be a recipient.
It reminds me of a penguin..
There's also a tree bridge in part of the park that gives you a birds eye view.
For as big as these birds are they're very agile.
After this they took me to Genkionsen Banpaku Oyuba (I think was the name) to visit an onsen. Also known as a natural hot springs bath. We americans do it wrong. I'm glad that Mr. K was there to educate me on proper practice inside! I had done a little bit of reading but he has it down to an art. And doing it his way was a lot more enjoyable than if I had done it my own way. Which would have been me sitting in one spot slowly cooking myself.
Mr. K is such a nice guy and I really appreciate his patience with me. Not only is he patient, he is also smart and well educated. Organized as can be and very efficient. And he has such good taste in food too! His business co-workers were lucky to have him as he'd always be able to direct them to a good place to eat. He's impressed me so much! I'd give him a gold medal for awesomeness too!
Admittedly it is a bit different to be in a public bath. Though really it's kind of just like going to the gym locker room for an extended period of time. Aside from not knowing what to do and being the odd man out. I really enjoyed the onsen and will go to some more before I leave. Maybe I'll get lucky and find one with nobody else (or reserve it just for me) so I can take the GoPro in and take a picture of the facility. This one was quite luxurious however and had a bunch of different pools and areas.
http://oyuba.com/banpaku/?page_id=6#no=0
It's also been nice to be in a car going around. They own a very nice Toyota Aqua which I hadn't seen before. It's kind of like a prius but more efficient? I'm not a car guy.. Best of all was their music choice. It was a lot of the music I had growing up and have fond memories of! The Carpenters, Chicago, Abba, and on. It has a bunch of cool features too. TV, GPS, searching, etc. There's also a toll system for the roads that you insert a card into the car and it pays as you drive past. Handy dandy.
Maybe kind of a stupid observation as we drove around or maybe it's true. But nobody ever looks in cars they pass. It might just be me though I see a lot of other people doing it in the U.S. Where as you pass a car you look at the person you're passing. Curiosity? Arrogance? There isn't a need or reason for it but something I know I always do and have taken notice of before. So, that's my random thought~
Before parting they took me to a local shrine which I was very happy to visit. It was nice to visit one that meant something to people I knew and had some history with them. Mr. K, after learning the animal for the year of my birth (Ox/Cow), got me a charm to keep on me. He really didn't need to but I'm thankful for it and will put it to use! I also got my book stamped and the kind man who did that also gave me gifts from the shrine too. A far different experience from all the other shrines I have been to so far and it was good to have. They said I was lucky to be given a gift. But they probably weren't thinking how lucky I was to spend two days with them already. I am a very lucky fellow indeed.
Thanks again Mr. K and Mrs. N!
Tomorrow on to Hiroshima where I'll transfer to Miyajima to spend the night. Can't miss seeing that island, after all. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a painting too.