Showa Park (trip 1)

This blog entry is going to be completely self-indulgent.  You may learn something about Japan in it but it's mostly for my (and the family's) enjoyment, since a lot of the photos are of "A".  However, there are some pretty flower pictures too, and if you like those feel free to stick around.

This week found "A" on spring break and me scrambling for entertainment.  However, I needed to take "A"'s annual Easter photo so that I could send them to the grandparents.  (Yes, I know I have not sent them yet, but I digress.)  So to kill the proverbial two birds with one stone, I thought I would take "A" to Showa park.  It'll give her a chance to get out into the sunshine and me a chance to take some pretty Easter/Spring photos of her.  So we packed our lunch, packed our cameras, and got out a pretty Easter dress.

First things first.  Let's get the majority of "A"'s pictures out of the way.  Prepare yourselves for epic cuteness..

I must say, Doug and I created one cute kid.  I need to brush up on my photography skills to make the most of my little model.

It was easy to take hundreds of pretty Spring pictures at the park.  Showa Park is huge and only about a 15 minute drive from Yokota.  It contains acres of flower gardens, a kids park, a water park, miles of walking paths through arbors, a mini farm... the works.  You can rent a bike to ride around or take a little train that circles around the entire park.  Since it was our first time, we decided to walk.

Here is "A" and a friend walking around a little farm.  I forgot what type of crop they were growing but it was a really lovely and well-maintained farm.

The girls had fun taking their own pictures and now that I mention it, I have yet to download those photos from "A"'s camera.  It will be interesting to see how the world looks through the eyes of 6 year olds.

So our last stop was at the Bonsai Garden, which if you know Showa, isn't a very long walk from the gate closest to Yokota.  However, the girls were having fun taking their time looking around and since Showa Park is so close to the base there was really no need to walk through the entire park that day.

There is a beautiful lake at the Bonsai Garden and the girls enjoyed walking around it and hunting for turtles (yet another place to lose our RES turtles from home).

"A" enjoyed hopping along the large flat rocks around the lake.  Please, don't fall in!!!

The lake is a very picturesque spot, with a little boat house...

...and surrounded by beautiful pink cherry blossom trees.

But the main attraction is the Bonsai Garden, a little tiny courtyard tucked away in a corner.  It took us awhile to find it, but it was worth it.  I so want a little bonsai tree of my own but fear that I won't know how to take care of it.  Plus, they can be a little expensive as I'm sure these were.  However, they were stunning.  This one was my favorite.

I believe this was "A"'s favorite bonsai tree. 

And here is one of the gardeners/caretakers of the bonsai trees.  I really love his copper watering can.

We then had our lunch in the park, looked around a little more and then headed home.  What a gorgeous day with all the spring flowers in bloom.  I can understand why Japan is known for their cherry blossom trees.  These pink flowering trees were everywhere and quite a site to see.

The park was a little girl's (and big girl's) dream.  There was every shade of pink flowers blossoming on plants, trees and bushes that day.

Also gorgeous flowers of red and fuchsia.

But once again, here is my favorite (and prettiest) flower of them all...

Until next time.