roses in Jindai Botanical Gardens (1)

Yesterday I visited Tokyo Metropolitan Jindai
Botanical Gardens in Chofu City 都立神代植物公園
to enjoy roses..

I went to Mitaka Station by train, where I took a bus
for Chofu. The bus was full of people and almost
all of them got off at the bus at 神代植物公園前.

It's the season of roses.



There were lines of people waiting to get tickets.



Before going to Rose Garden, I enjoyed しゃくやく.





Here I am at Rose Garden!



Oh, how beautiful!

Rose Garden is filled with sweet scents of roses!

what a beautiful morning!

What a beautiful morning!

A nice, sunny but cool, early summer morning!

Not a cloud is to be seen in the sky.

(from my apartment)


On a fine day like this, how I wish I could go hiking!

But I can't, today. I have to do a lot of housework.

I did the washing and cleaning my rooms.

I put the futon in the sun.

Now I'll go grocery shopping.

Have a nice weekend, everybody.

(in front of my apartment)


(silhouette of the above picture)

walking in Chichibu, Saitama (2)

Mt. Buko　武甲山 is the symbol of Chichibu,
just as 守門山 of my native hometown.

People in Chichibu will all cherish the memory of
this mountain as long as they live.

I was a little bit sad to see the surface of the mountain,
for some parts of the mountain were bare.

Mt. Buko is full of limestone and it has been excavated
since Edo Period.









Then we went to Chichibu-jinja,　秩父神社.
It was my first time to visit 秩父神社.
It is a very famous Shinto shrine.

Many of you have been to秩父神社の夜祭り.

I'd like to enjoy it someday.













We walked to 秩父駅.





What a happy Sunday I had!

I walked 19721 steps in a day.

walking in Chichibu, Saitama (1)

When I woke up yesterday, I felt very good and felt like walking.

Good weather made me decide to join ‘Green Road Walking Club’.
“I’ll be in time! Hurry up, karin!” I said to myself.

I arrived at the meeting place, Kodaira Station, at 8:45.
Yes, I was in time.

We changed trains twice and arrived at Yokoze Station (横瀬駅)
on the Seibu Line.　We started to walk from there.



(Mt. Buko from Yokoze Station)


(our schedule)
横瀬駅 ⇒　芝桜の丘　(onigiri-lunch) ⇒　羊山公園　⇒
武甲山資料館　⇒　秩父神社　⇒　秩父駅（仲見世）⇒
(by 秩父鉄道)お花畑駅　⇒西武秩父駅　⇒　飯能　⇒
所沢駅　⇒　小平駅

Seibu Lines are very complicated!
I had to change cars several times.
I didn’t mind it at all, though.

We were too late to enjoy 芝桜 at their best.
But 芝桜and the country air refreshed me.
I felt happy when I had onigiri lunch looking down
the 芝桜畑.

Niigata in spring, 2014 (3)

On May 5, I met my good old friend, enjoyed talking
a lot and had a fine lunch with her.

After saying good-bye to her, I went to Nagaoka
by the Joetsu Shinkansen.

Then I took a taxi to Tochio. Before getting into the
taxi, I asked the driver if he knew the way to Tochio.
He answered yes, but he was almost a stranger.

I gave him directions and he thanked me, saying
“I had a very good experience today.”

Anyway, I got to my sister's.

I was very glad both my sister and her husband
looked happy, in spite of difficulties.





During my stay in Tochio, I took them to すがばたけ by taxi.
It is one of my favorite places.













This is my favorite Mt. Sumon.（守門山）
Its top is still covered with snow.



I was singing a school song in my elementary school days
without I knew.

守門の山は気高く聳え・・・

Oh, where have all those days gone?

It's true we get more sentimental as we grow older.

Going home to Niigata is
really a sentimental journey for me.