市民の憩いの場所、里山の趣が残る公園です。レンゲ（ゲンゲ）畑が満開となるこの時期は沢山のミツバチが飛び回っています。いつまでも残したい日本の懐かしい風景です。

鶴見緑地公園でiPhone撮影

コスモスと背景の夕焼けが凄い綺麗だったので思わず撮った1枚です。

日本の春といったら「桜」が代表的だと思います。
いつぞかに桜の木を植えてくれた人のおかげで、高崎の街中でもキレイな夜桜が撮れました。

近所の公園

鶴見緑地公園の日本庭園にて。松と枝垂れ桜が目に鮮やかな中、アオサギがくつろいでいます。この鳥は出会えると幸運が訪れるとも言われています。ご覧いただいた皆さまに、幸運が舞い降りますように。

大阪市東住吉区、サッカーチームセレッソ大阪の本拠地、長居公園の桜。広い園内にはたくさんの桜の木があり、春は夢の中にいるような美しさです。

Decided to go back to Gyoda again this weekend.

We had such a good time last time we went we decided we wanted to check out the cherry blossoms this spring. Managed to visit some really nice places.

We originally wanted to use the rental bicycles that they have in front of the station but we got there past noon and all of them were taken unfortunately.
Fortunately for us, it ended up getting a bit colder later on so it actually worked out.

We got lucky as there was a really convenient sightseeing bus that rolled through the station to all of the major places in the city every 45 minutes or so.

We checked out the cherry blossoms at Gyoda Castle and they had the Hanachozu (花手水, pots of flowers floating in water). We were able to see a few of these throughout the city which was nice.
They also had traditional umbrellas on display in a few areas around the castle which was really pretty.

After Gyoda Castle we visited the Sakitama Burial Mounds which had some really beautiful views of the cherry blossoms.
There was also a flock of herons flying around the area but I wasn't able to get a very good photo of any of them.
Luckily we got some great photos of the cherry blossoms and the main mound and had a really enjoyable time.

We also stopped by Suijo Park and there were some food stalls in the area, but we got there when everything was just about closed so we only got to see a few of the vendors.
We managed to get a really tasty lemonade and a latte though. Both tasted really good.
Surprisingly there were a lot of cosplayers at the park.
We probably saw like 20-30 people cosplaying using the bridges and cherry blossoms in the area.

On the way back to the station we managed saw this river during the bus ride and so we backtracked a little bit after getting to the station (about 5 minutes walking) and got to enjoy some really phenomenal views of the cherry blossoms along the river.
There were hardly any people there as well, surprisingly.

Overall it was a really awesome time!

歴博の窓から望む屏風桜

桜と富士山
そろそろ富士山の麓の桜に咲いてますので楽しみです。
山梨県富士吉田市忠霊塔の公園に撮影した。

大阪市東住吉区、今川沿い。四季折々美しい花が咲乱れる美しい場所です。また信楽狸の置物や、瓦など和のアイテムが置かれ、絵になる写真スポットです。春は桜満開で、しだれ桜や白い桜もあり、お散歩しながら日本の四季を存分に感じられます。無料で楽しめるのもうれしいですよね。

群馬県にある「境御嶽山自然の森公園」で撮った彼岸花。
ずっと撮りたいと思ってた彼岸花を、公園の中を歩き回って色んなところから撮りまくってました笑。
撮った中でも自分でよく撮れたな思った1枚です！

淡路島 花さじきの早咲きの菜の花です。
暖かい晴れの日で気持ち良かったです。

京都の京都府立植物園でスノードロップに囲まれた夕陽に照らされた水仙

大田黒公園で撮った紅葉です。
池の反射がとても美しかったです。

春が確実に歩んできているのでしょう。

日本の秋の行事と言えば、紅葉狩り！真っ赤に色付いた紅葉の下を仲良く散歩するカップルの姿に癒やされました！

Was walking past a park in Arakawa the other day and came across this interesting statue.

I think the name is read as Honda Takatomo (本田 貴侶) but it was difficult to find any information. I kept finding stuff showing the same statue but instead of "聖なるもののリピドー" they all show "聖なるもののリビドー"

I'm not sure what the differences are though.
Perhaps there are multiple statues in different locations?
All the ones I saw referred to this statue in Arakawa though so maybe there's a misprint or something?

Also I'm not sure what "リピドー" or "リビドー" means, but if anyone has any idea about what the statue's meaning is I'd love to hear it!

Either way it's a nice looking statue. I always enjoy finding things like this around different parts of Japan, they really add to the atmosphere of the city.

トーベ・ヤンソンあけぼの子どもの森公園という公園です。駐車場も無料公園も無料です。1年に一度ライトアップいたします。
今はしてませんが普通に昼間もムーミンの公園でインスタ映えいたします。

【都会の森で】

雪の日の集団登校。カラフルな雨具が雪景色に映えていました。

初雪の降った公園に冬の朝日が差し込んで、木々の長い影がとても美しかったです。

偶然見つけた公園にて。
土地勘が全くないので。
どこだか全くわかりましぇーん。

After a sudden snow fall the Wako Jurin park in Saitama prefecture looks like this.

Managed to stop by Ueno Zoo the other day for a little bit and while I didn't get to see much of the animals because we were short on time, we did get to see a few of the attractions around the park.

The first one is "Sala Thai" a gift from the Thai Government to mark the 120th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Japan, as written on the plaque.

The second one is the five-story pagoda of the former Kanei-ji Temple.
The pagoda was built in 1631 and rebuilt in 1639.

Besides that are just some photos of the scenery around the park, and you can see some of the autumn colors on the trees and even in Shinobazu Pond.

We also managed to get some tasty lunch.
This looks like steak but it was actually like a pork-steak cutlet type of thing. It tasted great though.

Hopefully I'll have some more time to actually see the animals next time I go lol
It's was registered as an Important Cultural Property in 1911.

[English／日本語]
This time, I'd like to continue my introduction to manners. This time, it's about manners when using leisure facilities.

Manners at amusement parks
At our Japanese language school, we have field trips several times a year. The locations include amusement parks, zoos, and other facilities. For this reason, we go over the precautions in class before the field trip. In this article, I would like to introduce some of these precautions. Tattoos are more common among international students compared to Japanese. Many leisure facilities in Japan refuse to accept people with visible tattoos. At one Japanese language school, there was a case where a student was not allowed to enter the facility because they did not check beforehand. Some facilities will allow you to enter if you are invisible, so you may want to carry a jacket even in the summer. However, this is not possible in the case of swimming pools, so give up using the facilities. Also, many places prohibit taking pictures using selfie sticks and live streaming of social networking sites. Be sure to check the precautions beforehand before you go.

Onsen（hot spring）Manners
It is difficult for even Japanese people to understand all the rules and manners of hot springs and public baths. For this reason, I often hear from international students that they have yet to try them because it seems too difficult to know how to enter. So what kind of rules and manners are there in onsen and sento? The first thing you must do before entering an onsen is to take a "kakeyu," which means to pour hot water on your body to remove dirt from your body before entering the onsen. There are also other things to keep in mind when washing your body. In hot spring facilities, the chairs used for washing your body are shared. Be sure to wash the chair well before putting it away when you are done using it. Also, women should tie their hair up when they enter the onsen. Do not put anything other than your body in the hot spring. The same goes for towels. Leave your towel in the luggage area or put it on your head. If it is your first time in a hot spring, be careful not to stay in the hot spring too long. If you are not used to hot springs, you may get sick. Hydrate frequently while bathing. Even Japanese people sometimes forget the detailed rules, so most onsen facilities have written instructions on how to enter the onsen. There are also YouTube videos that show you how to get in and out of the onsen, so please check them out.

Manners in the Park
Lastly, I would like to introduce the manners of the parks that are closest to us. I often hear foreigners talking about how parks in Japan are not very free. There are sometimes foreign students who get into trouble in the parks, so it is important to learn park manners as well. One of the most common problems I hear about is foreign students taking fruits and nuts from trees planted in the park. The trees and flowers planted in the park basically belong to the park, so you should not take them home. There are also many people who break the branches of cherry trees during the cherry blossom season. There is a Japanese proverb that says, “Fools who cut cherry trees. Fools who do not cut plum trees." If you cut off an important branch of a cherry tree, it may start to rot. Never cut cherry blossoms, no matter how beautiful they are. Also, I am sometimes asked by students if they can play soccer with their friends in the park. In most parks, you are not allowed to use a ball. Therefore, if you want to play soccer, you need to make a reservation at a local ground. For more information, ask your school teacher or a Japanese person close to you.

These are just a few of the things I introduced here. Please be sure to check the website of any leisure facilities you wish to use. Our school offers related classes before and after the field trip. It is a popular way for students to deepen their understanding of Japan, not only by playing but also by learning. I hope that everyone will try to learn about Japanese culture from various places in Japan.
今回も前回に引き続きマナーについて紹介します。今回はレジャー施設を利用するときのマナーです。

遊園地のマナー
日本語学校では年に数回校外学習を行います。場所は、遊園地や動物園などの施設などです。そのため、校外学習の前に注意事項を授業中に確認します。今回はその注意事項の一部を紹介します。日本人と比べて留学生に多いのがタトゥーです。日本のレジャー施設では見えるところにタトゥーを入れている人を断っているところが多くあります。ある日本語学校では事前の確認を行わなかったために学生が施設に入れなかったことがあるそうです。見えない状態になっているなら入園を許可する施設もあるので、夏場でも上着を持つようにするといいかもしれません。ただし、プールの場合はそれができないので、施設利用を諦めましょう。また、自撮りスティックを使用しての写真撮影や、SNSのライブ配信などを禁止しているところも多いです。事前に注意事項を必ず確認してから行くことにしましょう。

温泉のマナー
温泉や銭湯などは日本人でもルールやマナーをすべて理解するのは難しいです。そのため、留学生からは、入り方が難しそうだからまだ挑戦できていないという話をよく聞きます。では温泉や銭湯にはどんなルールやマナーがあるのでしょうか。まず、温泉に入る前にしなければならないのは「かけ湯」です。「かけ湯」は体にお湯をかけることで、温泉に入る前に体の汚れを落とす目的があります。また、「かけ湯」をすることで、お湯に体を慣れさせる意味もあります。その他にも体を洗うときにも注意をする点があります。温泉施設では体を洗うときに使う椅子は共同です。自分が使い終わったら、必ず椅子をよく洗ってから片付けるようにしましょう。また、女性の場合温泉に入るときは髪を束ねましょう。温泉の中に体以外はつからないように気を付けてください。タオルも同じです。タオルは荷物置き場におくか、頭の上にのせるようにしましょう。初めて温泉に入る人は長く温泉に入りすぎないように気を付けてください。温泉に慣れていないとときどき具合が悪くなる人がいます。入浴中はこまめに水分補給をしましょう。日本人でも細かいルールを忘れてしまうことがあるので、だいたいの温泉施設では入り方の注意事項が書いてあります。また、YouTubeなどでも入り方などが公開されているものもあるのでぜひ見てみてくださいね。

公園のマナー
最後に一番身近にある公園のマナーについてご紹介します。よく外国人が日本の公園は自由が少ないと話しているのを聞きます。公園内でトラブルを起こす留学生も時々いるので、公園のマナーもしっかりと学びましょう。よく聞く留学生トラブルは、公園に植えてある木から木の実や果物をとってしまうことです。公園に植えてある木や花は基本的に公園のものなので、持ち帰ってはいけません。また、桜の季節になると桜の枝を折る人も多くいます。日本のことわざに「桜を切る馬鹿、梅を切らぬ馬鹿」というのがあります。桜は大切な枝を切ってしまうと、そこから腐り始めてしまうことがあります。いくらきれいでも絶対に切らないでください。また、学生から友達とサッカーをしたいけれど公園でしていいかと相談を受けることがあります。ほとんどの公園ではボールを使ってはいけないことになっています。そのため、サッカーをしたい場合には地域のグラウンドを予約するなどが必要になります。詳しくは学校の先生や身近な日本人に聞いてみてください。

今回紹介したものはほんの一部です。レジャー施設を利用する場合は事前確認を必ずするようにしてください。本校では校外学習の前後に関連した授業を行っています。遊ぶだけではなく、学ぶこともできるので、日本への理解が深まったと好評です。みなさんもぜひ日本の色々な場所から日本文化を学んでみてくださいね。

緑から赤へ
季節の移ろい

The last of the photos that I took at Asukayama Park.

The first one was a nice statue of Shibusawa Eiichi and the second and third were taken at a shrine inside the park.
I had to do a little bit of research to learn more about the shrine, but I was already quite sure it was an Inari Shrine because of the fox statues, but apparently it's called (I believe) Kabuto Inari Shrine Ruins (兜稲荷社跡), although I could be wrong about the reading for the first kanji.

I liked that the shrine had a really small wooden shrine of what I believe was what the original shrine actually looked like, and the stone lanterns were aesthetically pleasing as well. I foolishly forgot to take a picture of the torii gate unfortunately...

The last two photos are the statue of Shibusawa Eichi (which took us forever to find lol) and the plaque below it. I can only make out a few characters that are written on the plaque but there's another plaque on the back of the pedestal (which I forgot to take a picture of), so if you're visiting the park be sure to look at that if you're struggling to read it as well lol.

成田山公園 照る紅葉のグラデーション

Some more photos from Asukayama Park!

The first monument is a bit difficult for me to read so I had to do a bit of research, but it seems to be a commemorative monument signifying the planting of various trees throughout the park to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, and as such, was constructed in 1968, so it's about 50 years old, probably one of the newer monuments of its kind within the park.

When I was walking back around the area I saw the dance stage from a different angle and managed to take a photo of the participants through a nice gap in the trees. There were a lot more participants this time so I stopped and watched it for a little while again.

At the other end of the park I found this statue of a woman which is actually a statue of the "Goddess of peace" and it was erected in 1974 to wish for world peace and happiness.
Even cooler, it was erected by the famous sculptor Seibo Kitamura who erected the "Peace Statue" at Peace Memorial Park in Nagasaki.
Really cool to see his works all the way in Tokyo as well!