Flower Gardens and Sunsets

Its been some time since my last post, mainly due to not much of major interest happening, but I thought I would post a few random photos of I took over the last month.

Firstly, a few photos from a flower garden that I visited with my wife and mother in law in the south of Osaka, where they are from. Plenty of moss to be seen!

And secondly, some photos I took of an amazing sunset as seen from our flat.

Banpaku Park Cherry Blossom

Last Sunday we headed over to Banpaku park to see the cherry trees in bloom. It was a beautiful warm day and it seemed as if half the population of Osaka had turned up as well! The Monorail to the park was jam packed and we had trouble getting on, luckily it was only one stop! This was my second visit to Banpaku (see here) and a chance to see some areas we had missed before. After having a small picnic we took a stroll through one of the pathways through the cherry trees, this was my first time in Japan during springtime and I was amazed by how beautiful the trees were, it was quite breathtaking!

We also visited the Japanese gardens (you would think all gardens in Japan are Japanese!) just outside the park which have some wonderful flowers and plants. This area was much more peaceful than the main park and a welcome retreat from all the noise. Well worth visiting to see the huge Koi fish.

I was very impressed by my first cherry blossom viewing but next year I think we will visit somewhere a little more peaceful!

Now, where shall we spread our picnic blanket?

Cherry blossom as far as the eye can see

Market stalls

More blossom

A colorful scene

The Tower of the Sun

A flower in the Japanese garden

Nice rocks

More blossom

By the river

Banpaku-Kinen-Koen

Last Wednesday was another sunny day, perfect weather for visiting the park! There was however, another good reason for visiting, the chance to have a good rummage through the bric-a-brac at a large garage sale (or car boot sale if you like) being held at Banpaku-Kinen-Koen park.

Banpaku-Kinen-Koen is famous for being the site of the Osaka Expo held in 1970 and for the imposing sculpture 'Tower of the Sun' which was originally built for the expo by the Japanese artist Taro, and which still stands at the entrance to the park, looming over visitors.

 The 'Tower of the Sun' looms ahead.

 The tower up close.

Round the back of the sculpture.

When we had gotten over the awe of seeing such an amazing sculpture we headed around the back to where the sale was being held. The market had hundreds of stalls, selling all kinds of interesting second hand goods and took a good hour to make our way around. I managed to come away with a horde of treasure in the form of a bundle of Famicom cartridges at 100 yen each!

That's a lot of stalls!

After the sale and a brief stop for food we headed through the park towards the National Museum of Ethnology. It was a beautiful Autumnal day with the trees displaying an impressive range of hues and for some reason I was reminded of walking in the park as a child, perhaps it was reminiscent of the long hot summers I remember from my childhood or the seventies feel of the park. The museum was impressive with different areas dedicated to artifacts from specific regions of the world, at this point in the day I felt exhausted but was soon revitalized after looking at all the fascinating items.

A stroll through the park.

Artifacts at the Museum of Ethnology.

After the museum our route through the park took us to the Japanese garden, the garden is beautifully maintained and includes a lotus garden and a pond with huge koi carp, unfortunately the lotus garden was not in bloom but the dying plants made for some great photo opportunities nonetheless.

The Japanese garden (surely all gardens in Japan are Japanese?)

One cheerful Koi!

Our final stop was perhaps the most interesting, the 70's Expo Museum. This building is one of the few remaining parts of the original Expo complex and contains a fascinating look back at the history of the event. One of the most impressive areas, situated in the the center of the building, is the 'Space Theatre Hall' an arena that still remains as it was at the Expo in 1970's. After leaving the museum I really wished I could have traveled back in time and experienced the event for myself!

The original Expo guide book.

Inside the 70's Expo Museum.

Space Theatre Hall.

Detail from the Space Theatre Hall

The Expo's uniforms.

Local Wildlife

Around our apartment block there are a lot of flowers growing but one type I'm particularly fond of is this one:

I'm not sure what it is but it grows everywhere. Maybe one of you horticulturalists out there could enlighten me? (I know who you are!)

The other wildlife I like around here is the turtles (our maybe terrapins?) in the local pond. Here they are enjoying the morning sun:

Ahhh, how sweet!