Summer greeting from the ancient capital

It's high Summer in Japan now. Japanese people get along in hot, sultry days. How about you?

My friend and I went to see lotus flowers at vestige of 藤原京（Fujiwara-kyo)
藤原京（Fujiwara-Kyo) is south of Nara city and it was the capital in Japan during the year 694~710, before the capital was moved to Heijyo-Kyo in Nara city. It takes about 30 minutes from Nara city by train.
Now here is only field surrounded three small mountain( Mt.Miminashi, Mt. Kagu, Mt.Unebi) or rice paddies.

At a part of the field of Fujiwara-Kyo, A lot of lotus were full blooming.

The day we visited there was very hot. Tall thriving lotus flowers were growing toward the deep blue Summer sky.
Deep blue Summer sky. Deep blue or white are Summer color,I think. 持統天皇(Female Emperor,Jito)was
ruling Japan in those days at Fujiwara-Kyo and this is one of her tanka poetry.
 
　　 春過ぎて　夏きたるらし　白妙の　衣ほしたり　天の香久山

It means Spring was over and Summer came. So white clothes are hung out toward Mt.Kagu. It's Summer-like view. White stood out under Summer strong light.

Yellow cosmos also were full blooming in the field of Fujiwara-Kyo.

                                        With Mt.Miminasi that is one of three mountain in Fujiwara-Kyo.

                          A baseball-boy was riding among yellow cosmos and green rice paddy.

We were going to leave there and supposed to call a taxi. But  there was too spacious around so we didn't know where we were. There were nobody around there. We couldn't meet anyone to ask where we were. But at last we discovered one man who was leaving his house. We only wanted to know the address we were standing  to call a taxi but he called a taxi for us and her mother invited us to have a cup of tea in her house.
I was impressed with their kindness for us, strangers. According to the taxi driver, " all people around here are kind like them".
I had a impression that they succeeded houses, estate, rice paddies, fortune etc, from their ancestors,maybe from the ancestor of the period of Fujiwara-Kyo and they've been  farming diligently at the rice-paddies. Around there in Nara, disasters must have been striking  little. So they could accumulate wealthy as I've read about it in a newspaper.

In the intermission of the rainy season

Now we are just  in the rainy season. The stationary front is settling in above the Japanese Archipelago. When does this front go away to the Continent,I wonder?  I hope it gets off without giving the harmful
damage to the archipelago like usual year.
But the rain or water is essential for us or living thing. Many life are born in this season.  I walked Nara-Park in the intermission of the rainy season.
The grove is given water and shoots born in spring grow to deep green. So we can see many kind of green.
And I also met many families of Starling in the wood of Kasuga-Grand-Shrine. They were picking something with children born recently vigorously.
There is a pond in the Park. Nobody were there. Now the pond was full of water and we could have heard a pin drop though  there are a lot of beautiful wisteria trees around this pond and many people visited cheerfully,noisy in May. Because of too quiet and pure air I thought water or wood nymphs may appear around there.

Also deers in Nara-Park come to the season of birth.
 In Nara-park about 700 female deer are living and babies of deer are born during from the middle of May to around July. Every year about 200 pregnant female deer are protected at Rokuen( deer's garden) and they deliver babies at this place. Babies get to be able to eat grass  about 20 days after the  birth. After that they are set off the Park with mothers. So we can see babies and mothers here during June.

      Mizutani-Cyaya( the restaurant in Nara Park)

We can see babies that have the clear white-spotted on their backs at the  Rokuen. There were about 30 babies and many female deer on the day I visited. Babies get to be able to stand in about one hour after birth.

       Babies like the place like this. They have habit that hide behind grasses.

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I visited Hasedera-temple in Kamakura of Kanagawa prefecture next to Tokyo. This temple is famous for hydrangea. The hydrangea in the rain is more beautiful.

         From the observatory of Hasedera-temple. Sagami-Bay and the beach.

       Enoshima-dentetu-line.  Opening run was in 1902. This runs very close to private houses or along the beach. It's convenient to visit the Hasedera-temple.

                  An old-fashioned mailbox was standing surrounded with pink hydrangea. Nice atmosphere.

　　　　　　　　sharing Our World Tuesday

Our garden in May

I was watching the dogwood tree in our garden vaguely through the window, having breakfast. Because some birds were coming to eat food in the can on the dogwood everyday during winter as my husband has been continuing to put food in that can. But they left our garden since spring came. I thought the birds migrated to the short distance like bulbuls.

At that very moment, the shadow of some birds crossed branches of the dogwood. I gladly expected birds had left early spring came back to our dogwoods tree. I approached the dogwood cautiously and found broods on a branch. Maybe they seemed to  have just left their  nest. Four chickens perched on the branch of the dogwood closely.

                  Maybe the right young's  eyes rested on my camera. Though I took them through the window.

But where was their nest? My husband said when he went the garden six days before, two birds( maybe their parent) flied down  to attack him. So their nest must have been around there.

They on the branch seemed to fall down with strong wind but four chickens clung the branch together. They were squirming busily but they froze with my husband's footstep. After the footstep receded they started squirming again. I wonder why they fly away with footsteps? Parent said them to stay here or they can't fly without parent's lead or? I remembered my children raising.

And when mother bird and farther bird each bring worms they pressed  with yellow bills full open. Parents give them food in turn,I wonder. I thought bringing up four children takes a lot of doing.

It seems that they are talking with their eyes and I feel parent's love to their children. the left is child.

Parent brings worms frequently. I wonder what this worm is ,or where they find from? Though there are small bushes neighborhood.

I was not weary of watching them then the entrance chime rang.
When I came back here from the entrance, their figures had already disappeared.

The family started off. I cannot help wishing  they survive in the hard natural world though the encounter with them was only for 30 minutes.

I think they are a family of Japanese bush warbler.


                                              &

This year may be a great year roses. Roses in the garden neighborhood and ours are full blooming. After raining.

                                      Thank you for coming, dear friends! Have a lovely day!

Strolling in the water front of Yokohama

I went  to see the elder daughter who lives in Yokohama city. I heard she is trying on some wedding dresses or color dresses.  I thought it sound like interesting. I wanted to see her wearing in lovely dresses.  But there were so many dresses that she couldn't choose even only one on that day.

After leaving her, I strolled around there. Minatomirai, Yamasita- Park, China Town.


Minatomirai
I went up the 69 floor of the Landmark Tower building. This tower is 273meters high and was the highest in Japan but lately surrendered to the Harukasu(300 meters high) in Osaka city. The night view from here was very beautiful like scattered many jewels. I could  also see the light of the  metropolis Tokyo. It's left upward in this picture.

There were many couples around me. Here seems to be a good spot for couples. Unfortunately as my husband is acrophobia he will never come here.

 The moon is also shining, looking down people's lights. It's continuing to see the human life from long long  ago, I wonder?

Osanbashi Pier,
 Since 17century  Japan had been ruled with  national isolation. Only Chinese and the Dutch  were allowed to enter Japan. But The port of Yokohama was opened in 1859 as a direct result of the Treaty of Kanagawa, signed by Commodore Matthew Perry of United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan.  At the time, two wharfs were built in place of the present day Osanbashi , I heard.  Major cruise ship such as the Queen Elizabeth 2 are embarked here.

Water front in Minatomirai, from Osanbashi-Pier. Landmark Tower is left of this picture.

The Red-Brick Warehouse, bonded ware house that built in 1911 and now there are shops inside.

Yamashita Park
While I was strolling Yamashita-Park, lovely voice crossed in front of the museum ship, Hikawa-Maru. This Japanese ocean liner was launched 1929 and made her maiden voyage from Kobe in Japan to Seattle in US.

Many petals of cherry blossom came together around the ship.

China town
When our daughters were little children we were living in Tokyo next to Yokohama city for husband's transfer. In those days the elder daughter was learning piano at near Yokohama-city  and we used to take her to her teacher's house from Tokyo by our car. After lesson we used to visit here to have meals.  A good old memory rushed into my mind.
This area about 200meters square contains about more than 500 shops including nice restaurants of Chinese food, I heard.

                                                                  Maso temple in China Town

I could see Mt.Fuji clearly from a bullet train, Shinkansen.
                                     Thank you for visiting,Friend!

The season of cherry blossm

We love cherry blossom like other Japaneses.
We've being seen beautiful, wonderful, famous cherry blossom in Nara prefecture,Tohoku region, Shinsyu region, or Kyoto prefecture etc. Seeing cherry blossom is our pleasure.

So this year we went to see 淡墨桜（usuzumi-sakura, usuzumi means pale pale ink and sakura means cherry blossom) to Gifu prefecture. This cheery tree is one of the big three in Japan and it's about 1500 years old, 16.3 meters in height, around of the trunk is 9.91meters. This flower's bud is pale pink and white during full bloom and when it fall it gets pale pale ink, I heard. Sometimes a lot of petals were flied like a blizzard.

We got on a local train, Tarumi line. This line has some small lovely stations. This station  may be for few people but spring has come here.

Takayama city
We visited Takayama-city in Gifu prefecture. This city is very popular with tourist from all over the world. Though we visited this city some times it's the first time for me to enter 陣屋（Jinya).
The Tokugawa Shogunate decided to govern directly around here in 1692 and sent officers from Edo. Those officers worked  at  Jinya. The big storehouse for the annual tribute(rice) is remained. This Jinya is only public office that is remained in Japan.

                                                      The hall for meetings.

 

A sake brewery and its store. The green ball under the eaves is called Sugidama. This is made by Japanese cedar's leaf.They say that this year's sake was made by hanging a sugidama. And this green changes to brown gradually. This changing say people the ripeness condition of sake. The green ball derives from cedars in Miwa-Mountain  near the Divine of sake, Oomiwa-Shrine in Nara prefecture, they say.

Cherry blossm at Matu-river that flows near Toyama-Castle in Toyama prefecture.

Cherry blossom at Oono-temple in Nara prefecture.

 

The carved Buddha on a large rock on the other side of the river.

                Thank you for visiting, friends!