Rikugien

I have been to many parks in Tokyo since last October. I checked my map of Tokyo and found the major ones that I can visit. I most recent one is The Rikugien in the Bunkyo Ward, very near Sugamo station. After lunch in Ueno I took hte train to the station and walked ot he park. There is a high wall that goes all the way around the park. At the entrance I got my senior discount ticket and started walking. It is not a big park. But it is very beautiful. It has a pond. It has a hill. It has many paths which go all around the park. There were not a lot of people though. There were foreigners and there were groups on tours. The weather was just right. It was neither hot nor was it cold. It was just right. I walked for about an hour before stopping to get a treat. It was special because it was a green tea with a sweet. When you purchase that you can sit in the area that has the best view of hte pond. I was there close to half an hour. That was relaxing and then I was ready to continue my tour. I went ot he back of hte park. There were some interesting things such as bridges, rocks, trees and flowers. I'll visit again when the season changes. 

Puzzler Answers

And now it's back to work, and some quality time with my brother who is visiting. Puzzler Answers: CLICK HERE.

以下はスーパースクラブルパズルです。よく見ると、4つの空白のタイルが見つかります。 空白のタイルとは、何も書かれていないタイルのことです。それら空白のタイルは、ある単語の一部です。空白のタイルに、どの文字があてはまるかを考えてください。おわかりですか？答えは、ページを下にスクロールして下さい。GOOD LUCK。

Below is a Super Scrabble Puzzle. If you search carefully you will find four blank tiles on it. BLANK means that nothing is written on it. But, they are part of the word. Try to determine what letter the BLANK tiles are. After you have your guess you can scroll down the page to find the answers. As always, GOOD LUCK.

              

 DIAPER                  QUIT                WRITER                VETTED                    

Puzzler Hints

It's a beautiful day for a wedding, don't you think? Puzzler Hints: CLICK HERE.

May Home Project

今月のHome Projectは、「 UP」　です。

UP UP UP!

Get up, wake up , pick up, look up, mix up, get up, close up, back up, clean up, break up, blow up, dress up, hard up, call up, fix up, give up, hang up, hard up, zip up, lock up, pull up, rise up, turn up, warm up.......level up your skills and use these in conversations and in your stories this month.

今月は、これらの、up,  ～up,などの単語を使って会話をしたり、話の中に取り入れて文章を作ってみましょう！　Good luck!

Old EDO toilet

Puzzler

That was a good week and now we will be very busy this weekend. How about you? Puzzler: CLICK HERE.

May Home Project

今月のHome Projectは、「 UP」　です。

UP UP UP!

Get up, wake up , pick up, look up, mix up, get up, close up, back up, clean up, break up, blow up, dress up, hard up, call up, fix up, give up, hang up, hard up, zip up, lock up, pull up, rise up, turn up, warm up.......level up your skills and use these in conversations and in your stories this month.

今月は、これらの、up,  ～up,などの単語を使って会話をしたり、話の中に取り入れて文章を作ってみましょう！　Good luck!

Old EDO Police Box

Never give up

There is a restaurant in Ueno that I have been longing to go to for a long time. These days I go ot Tokyo a lot. I like to visit new and interesting places. Many teach me about the history of Tokyo and/or Japan. And during my adventures in Tokyo I I have to eat, of course. When that happens I try to find restaurants or places that offer good food. Hopefully it will be delicious. I never go to fast food places. And once or twice I have been to hotel restaurants. It is all part of the experience. Finally I had lunch at a restaurant in Ueno park called "Le quattro stagioni". On April 29th I was on my way to the Rikugien Park. I rode the train to Ueno and searched for ht is restaurant. All of the other eateries were full with people lined up outside waiting to get in. Then I found my restaurant. There was one seat open. I got in and had a very nice pasta lunch. I sat outside. It was very pleasant and relaxing. People were passing by to and fro. Nice. By the way, "Le quattro stagioni" means "The four seasons" in Italian. 

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum

After visiting the mausoleums I got back on the ChuOu line train. I got off at Higashi Koganei station and took taxi to Koganei Park. The museum is inside his park. First I got a maccha soft cream and relaxed under the trees on a bench. Then I went to the museum office, got my senior discount ticket and entered. This is a must-visit place. Basically there were many buildings that were brought from Edo-Tokyo. There is a photo studio, a mausoleum, a "Kokaden" Palace, house gates, a tea arbor, a farmhouse, a police box, a soy sauce shop, a bar, a public bathhouse, a tailor's workshop, a stationery store, a flower shop, a kitchenware store, a cosmetic manufacturer, an umbrella wholesale store, a grocery store, an inn as well as a fire department watch tower upper section. There are many houses of prominent (famous) people. I walked around for an hour and a half. I also met a family form my home state of Michigan. I was walking past them and someone said "Livonia" which is a city that I am very familiar with. We spoke for 20 minutes. It was a nice ending to this adventure.

Musashino Ryou Bochi

I looked at my TOKYO 23 WARDS map book and found two interesting places. One is the Musashino Ryou Bochi in Hachioji near Takao station and the other is the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei City. Both are far from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo proper. They are also both on the ChuOu line. So, I decided to visit both in one day. First, I went to Takao station via Shinjuku. Of course there were hikers everywhere eager to climb up Mt. Takao. I found the guidepost to get me to the cemetery. It took about 20 minutes on foot. I travelled through very narrow streets to get there and when I arrived I was amazed at the huge park that lay before me. There are four mausoleums in this park. Two hold the remains of the Taisho Emperor and his Empress. The other two hold the remains of the Shouwa Emperor and his Empress. That is all there is to see here. The park has huge trees, lots of birds and two wide gravel roads and a couple of police officers. It takes less than 30 minutes to see everything. It is a solemn place. It is quiet and calm. It has an aura. It is definitely worth a visit.