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"....
*****
You should have compared your face to the kekwa
ReplyDeleteBwahahahaha!! I never thought of that. My face might bloom!
DeleteWe went at night to the park two years ago and you went during the day. :)
ReplyDeleteI think the night view would be nice. Reminds me of the night Cherry Blossom tress in Fukuoka.
Delete#1.. a nice accidental detour to the garden while Anay and Letchumy walked holding hands enjoying the nice view along the way.. peach and orange!! wow, now, please do not deny that Anay and Letchumy chased each other and hide around the trees and bushes ala Bollywood!!
ReplyDelete#2.. it is actually a nice idea to have one person taking care of the expenses pool where everyone chips in money.. but Anay and Letchumy, no kira lah, your money is her money, her money is your money~~
#3.. very beautiful bonsai!! the owner must be very proud of the bonsai that he/she placed it next to the brochures.. BTW, did you find the stamp for this garden??
#4.. i can see Anay and Letchumy sitting there 20 years later~~ :p
#5 & #6.. beautiful flowers!! and do you know chrysanthemum is the symbol of the Japanese Imperial Family??
Delete#7.. very beautiful entrance resembling the olden Japanese house.. so there is a passage right after the gate leading to the secret garden.. :)
#8.. the lake looks so serene and with the lush green, i think i can just sit by the lake for one whole morning, probably having some seasonal fruits like peaches, oranges and persimmons to enjoy the view??
#9.. hmm, too early for the autumn leaves huh?? i remember i was lucky to be able to see them, thought we were late, but the leaves just "wanted" to wait for us, due to the global warming i guess :p
#10.. not only the Japanese, but i guess we are excited to see the colorful autumn leaves too!! hahahaha, something that would never be seen here in this Bolehland with 4 seasons - Musang King Seasons, Flood Seasons, Dengue Seasons and Haze Seasons!!!
Delete#11.. oh, my first sight of wild mandarin ducks not in water but on land!! hahaha..
#12 & #13.. beautiful, just beautiful!! indeed CB (captivatingly beautiful)~~
#14.. one day when Anay and Letchumy return to the garden, you may want to wear kimono too!! that would be nice~~ :)
#15 & #16.. interesting facts shared!! hmmm, at first i thought they are trying to protect the insects.. only to realise those straw mats are actually traps!! genius Japanese..
Delete#17.. errrr, is this photo actually with a wrong focus?? muahahahaha.. it seems the focus was on the red leaves rather than the Japanese doll from Bolehland dei~~ :p
#18.. awww!! beautiful autumn leaves!! very beautiful shot of the garden!! now end autumn has already delayed to early December huh??
#19.. i guess that was the typical height for doors in ancient Japanese houses.. you have been to Kyoto and you should be able to see very short and narrow gates and doors of the old houses?? :)
I read the Japanese blogger's blog post and realised I could have also visited the KOISHIKAWA-KORAKUEN in the same area. That would give me more photos to snap and walk hand-in-hand with Letchumy.
DeleteLike you say, I would be back in 20 years sitting by the lake.
Normally I would be the banker for some trips. This time Letchumy is loaded, so changed hands. Hee hee hee
The photo was not a wrong focus dei. It is a new trend of photography for you to wonder. I could be snapping the Autumn bush and a lady walked behind by chance. Ha ha
The straw mats tied to the trees are brilliant and cruel anyway. I would just throw them back into the forests by Spring.
Mentioning about Japan, i was in the bus few days ago, when i overheard some passengers in the bus chit chat, an elderly auntie was telling a guy passenger that Japan, the people there are courteous, even if the train was not crowded, the seats that are reserve for elderly people, etc, those people will not sit at it, not like over here, some people will not even bother to give up their seat to the elderly, etc...
ReplyDeleteIt is very true that they are very considerate to all the older and handicapped people in their country. They have many seats for the "privileged" inside each car of the trains.
DeleteThis place is so beautiful and neat! I am sure our mood will turn good when we were here, hehe!
ReplyDeleteYes. The weather was very cool and any angry bull could be calmed within minutes!
DeleteLove gardens and whenever I am in another country, I make it a point to visit one. Seen a numebr in Tokyo but not this one. Will plan another trip using your posts as guide, for free. Love the comparison by the way, flower to face.
ReplyDeleteI only love the gardens in Japan as they took great lengths to beautify them from the trees until the pebbles we walk on.
DeleteThe lakes very beautiful and your Japanese Doll even more beautiful, look very youthful
ReplyDeleteMuahahahahaha... My doll says thank you - Arigato Gozaimas!
DeleteI love the cleanliness and neatness of the village. It was so calm and serene there! I wish I can be there and just do nothing but enjoy nature, while sipping green tea.
ReplyDeleteHoiii Kurage! What village? Muahahaha
DeleteIt's just too bad that you guys are a little bit early there if not can really enjoy the full blossom of the flowers. I am sure it is a beautiful sight. Even the red leafs near the lake already posed a nice scenery!
ReplyDeleteNext year I will fly to Japan in December to see the read and yellow leaves drop onto the grounds instead.
DeleteYou are too tall for the doorway. Your Japanese doll is also your cfo during this trip, right? Thank you for sharing with us the reason for tying a straw mat around the trees. I didnot know that. It is difficult to time your trip so that you can see the full autumn colours in this garden because sometimes autumn comes early or comes late.
ReplyDeleteI realised I am too tall for many traditional places in Japan including the samurai's residence. I almost swept off their ceilings!
DeleteI was surprised, stunned and baffled by the straw mat theory too. What an idea.
It is not easy to pick dates to see snow falling, autumn leaves and sakura trees unless we book last minute flights.
Good morning,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing such a beautiful place... hope I will have the chance to visit too. That's an interesting about the insects... at least they are warm during the winter and hopefully escape before being burn!
If you ever visit this place in Winter, please remove all the straw mats and let the poor insects escape!!! Thanks Elaine..
DeleteMuahahaha
I would've loved some solid evidence that the chrysanthemum flower was really as big as your face!
ReplyDeleteI like their anti insects solution with the trees. The Japanese are really creative and smart in coming up with this kind of methods!
Oh well, I will post the photos on my next coming visit to Japan..... real soon.
DeleteYes, I do agree that the Japanese are very creative and smart. They are innovative too.
The photos no. 8, 9, 12 and 13 are my favorites!
ReplyDeleteOh well, those are random shots. Thank you for liking.
DeleteCool. Thanks for sharing the photos you took during your Japan trip.I got inspired to visit the place. Thumbs up to you too for letting your wife take care of the trip budget.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog and do come again for more Japanese photos!
Deletelovely Japanese bonsai and pretty Japanese doll, a great place to be :D
ReplyDeleteYes, Japan is a lovely country that I have to visit every year.
DeleteWow, I'm amazed the Japanese actually dressed in their traditional costumes just for viewing! Nice place to visit. I've just posted a travel article too. Trip to Budapest may interest you ^_^
ReplyDeleteYes, they keep their traditions well and beautifully.
DeleteOh yes, I will visit your Budapest post soon. Thank you
The scenery is stunning. I am amazed at how tidy and serene the place looks. People look so at peace. :D
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful Japan. All their parks, gardens and homes are neat and spotlessly clean.
DeleteI like #8, #9 and #12
ReplyDeleteThanks. I am glad you liked them.
Deletebreathtaking scenery
ReplyDeleteYes I could doze off any minute and fall into the lake.
Deletethis is really an interesting place.. it looks so neat, unspoiled and so relaxing.... considering how much trees and ornamental plants they have there...the kind of tree I really want to see when I hit Japan is the Cherry Blossom hehe
ReplyDeleteYes you should visit Japan during their Sakura season. The weather would be very cool and lovely to smell the flowers.
DeleteHi! Your Japanese doll is very beautiful. No.15, Knotting flower is Ume,or Japanese apricot, not sakura. 松、pine tree, 竹、bomber 梅、Ume The three of them mean good symbols in Japan as same as n China.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing with me about the knot. I thought it was cute like Sakura. The Japanese are so creative right up to tying the knots!! I was so truly impressed.
DeleteThe blooming potted plants look so fake, too many flowers there!
ReplyDeleteI agree that they looked faked because they were so huge and unusual.
Deletei would love to walk around there. yea...am into gardening. Haiz...if only i can grow crysenthemum so beautiful like that....
ReplyDeleteJapan has so many blooming gardens that could please your eyes!
DeleteAnay, you have been to so many sight-seeing spots in Tokyo. Shy to admit that JAMY only went to city tour, Disneyland, Disneysea, Mt.Fuji, and all shopping streets only.
ReplyDeleteGood for you to have Letchumy as your travel navigator. I did nothing except making noise to jin jin to take me to shopping.
OMG! You guys went to both Disneyland and Disney Sea!!! That would be so tiring and freezing cold by the sea. I bet JAMY had a blast there.
DeleteI loved shopping there but I spent my time looking at their attractions. I prefer to shop in Osaka.