TravelJapanBlog.com - Japan (07, 09-10, 13), Denmark (08, 11, 16-19, 21, 24), Korea (13), Poland (21), Mexico (14, 15, 19, 26), Iceland (17, 19), Hawaii (14, 17, 22), Czech Republic (16, 17, 19, 21)
The above will search Traveljapanblog.com.
Concerts - Landscapes - Sports

 

Posts tagged 甘泉園公園

Japanese critters

蜘蛛 spider kumo

When you think of wildlife in a big city not much comes to mind outside of the zoo. Well, maybe you think of rats and cockroaches, but we haven’t seen either of those in Tokyo. (I saw lots of cockroaches when I lived in Tokyo 20 years ago, but my dwellings at the time were pretty grim too.)

At the nearby park, 甘泉園公園, there are tons of spiders. This park is immaculate. Everything is in perfect order except the spiders and their webs. I’m guessing the grounds keeper has either given up on the spiders or just likes them. It does add a certain charm to the place.

japanese beetle

We’ve seen lots of other little (and not so little) critters running about, like this beetle.

とかげ japanese lizard

This lizard had no problem posing for a photograph, but what made him really cool was where he was…

とかげ japanese shinto shrine lizard

…perched on a stone torii gate in the middle of a Shinto shrine (Mizu Inari Jinja to be exact).

蝉 semi cicada locust tokyo japan

I’ve heard a lot more from this last bug than I have had the chance to see. I’ve only seen a few, but it seems like I’ve heard millions by now. These are the ubiquitous semi (cicada) that fill the summer air with their cries.

Memories of childhood

japanese kids playing baseball in the park

When I was a kid I played some form of baseball (frequently wiffleball due to space and number-of-participants constraints) at least 200 days a year. I don’t see that anymore in the states in this age of soccer and video games. But in Japan I see kids playing baseball nearly every day.

野球 甘泉園公園

The location for these shots is the open area on the north-west corner of 甘泉園公園. I’ll be posting more pictures from and information about this park near Waseda University soon.