October 31, 2009

Showa Kinen Park, Nishi Tachikawa (October 31st)


The fall color was starting there.

We went to Showa Kinen Park in Nishi Tachikawa. In the Japanese garden we saw some beautiful maple trees with red, orange and yellow leaves. They held some citizen's festival on the way back to Tachikawa Sta. and at a tent of Polish people, we saw a lady, whose maiden name was the same as my friend, Daniel's! He is from the U.S. but his grandfather came from Poland. Pretty interesting! They sold some nice pottery made in Poland, Bolesławiec, and got a bowl with beautiful indigo graze.


Camellia sasanqua (Sazanka).


Crocus sativus (Saffron Crocus).


Cosmos "Yellow Garden".
There was nothing left at the famous hill of cosmos in this park.


The yellow cosmos and the cosmos flowers of "Campus" series were still blooming.


The maple trees in the Japanese garden.


The pond in the Japanese garden.


It looks like stained glass.


It looks so beautiful through the sunlight.


A boat filled with chrysanthemum was on the pond.


Kaniska canace (Ruri Tateha).


The cat living around the Japanese garden.
I think I took a picture of this cat before.
またまたいました。日本庭園前の主(?)の猫さんです。
いろんな人が近づいてもまったく動じず、さらに貫禄が増したような感じでした。


The Ginkgo biloba trees at the Tachikawa entrance of the park.
They were starting to get yellow.


What do you think of this?
These are the drops of water falling at the fountain in the park.

October 12, 2009

Kusatsu Hot Spring (October 10th - 12th)


Nikawa-no-yu Hot Spring.

We went to Kusatsu Hot Spring again. We wanted to see some fall colors there, and we went to the Mt. Shirane area but it was covered with clouds there and couldn't see that caldera. We took the trail from Sesshou-ga-hara to Mandai-kou when we were back to the hot spring town area. The trail was pretty nice and quiet. We saw some nice beautiful fall colors there.


Nikawa-no-yu Hot Spring.
It is really hot and strong acidity.


Nikawa-no-yu Hot Spring.


Sai-no-kawara.
The stream of hot spring water.


Thick slices of pork ginger at "Dan", our favorite restaurant (or bar) near the Yubatake.


Yumi-ike.


Yumi-ike.


It was really cold there and it was cold even for the ducks, it seemed.


We found a little bit of snow by Yumi-ike.


Vaccinium uliginosum var. japonicum (Kuromame-no-ki).


Gaultheria miqueliana (Shiratamanoki).


We couldn't see far around the Mt. Shirane.


Mononogu-no-ike.


Sesshou-gawara.


Fall color leaves.


Viburnum furcatum (Ookame-no-ki).


Gentiana scabra var. buergeri (Rindou).


Sesshougawara area.


The trail from Sesshougawara to Mandaikou.










ドウダンは真っ赤に紅葉していました。


Mandaikou? One of the origin of the hot spring of Kusatsu.
It looks extremely hot!


Ootaki-no-yu near the Nikawa-no-yu.
They use the water from the both of Nikawa-no-yu spring and Mandaikou spring.


The maple tree by Ootaki-no-yu.


The construction site of Yamba Dam.
八ツ場ダムの建設現場。帰りのバスの車窓から。