We always adore the Japanese who often practice Art as a graceful way of Living.
They would take great pains and planning to beautify & perfect
their environmental areas from the gardens, landscapes, buildings'
ambiance and even the correct postures to eat or sip the green tea.
That's beautiful and amazing Art to me.
We headed to Rikugien Gardens as it was often lauded for the best
place to appreciate the foliage of Autumn's myriad colours.
This gardens at Bunkyo-Ku was built around 1700s.
1. We took the JR Yamanote Line train from Akasaka to
Komagome Station and walked some 30 minutes to the gardens
instead of just 10 minutes as we were lost in circles.
I enjoyed getting lost as I could admire the neat houses
with trees growing abundance of orange and peach fruits!
It was a sight to behold.
2. My wifey who was my trip's banker & navigator paid
300 Yen each for entrance fees.
3. They even placed a pretty bonsai with beautiful blooms
on the table next to the brochures.
4. The older generations sat to relax and chat after a good
stroll around the Rikugien Gardens.
5. There are many similar pots of full blooming flowers around
Tokyo's temples and gardens.
6. Their chrysanthemums are so huge like my face!
7. The arched entrance with me greeting everyone
..."YOKOSO!"...
8. There is a huge lake in the middle of the gardens.
9. The Autumn's colourful trees have not reached its peak yet
as we visited too early.
10. The Japanese folks are always excited to watch the colourful
Autumn's trees as well as the Spring's Cherry Blossoms by
monitoring the daily seasonal reports over the internet.
11. It was my first sighting of wild Mandarin Ducks!
12. A view of the lake through the pines.
13. The lake of Rikugien Gardens.
14. The folks came in proper Japanese Kimono attires to
enjoy the scenic gardens.
15. Many pine trees were neatly wrapped with straw mats
and tied into a sakura flower's end knots.
Do you know the reason they are tied just before Winter?
16. Here the notice board shared its reasons - When the winter comes,
they will try to catch all the harmful insects by wrapping the trunks with
the "Komo-Maki" method of using straw mats. They would tie 2 lines
with the looser line above so that the insects would crawl inside
and stay warm throughout the winter, as the 2nd lower line
would be tied very tightly to prevent them from crawling down.
By Spring, the would remove the straw mats and burn them
together with all the insects.
BLUEK!!!!
17. My Japanese doll.
18. We would have enjoyed this exact scenery if we have visited
Rikugien Gardens during the end of Autumn in December.
Rikugien Gardens during the end of Autumn in December.
19. Am I too tall for the Arch or the Arch is too short?
.... "SAYONARA"....
*****
