January 24, 2016
New York, New York
Sunny - Day after the blizzard
Hello from NYC, I relocated here on January 2, 2016 and the Big Apple will be my new home! But before blogging about my new adventures in the Big Apple, I need to finish some posts I started on some fun trips I took while in Japan.
During late May of last year, I had a biz trip to Sapporo, Hokkaido (the northern island of Japan) and decided to spend the weekend there as Sapporo is one of my favorite cities in Japan. If I had to live in Japan permanently (and had a job), I'd definitely will be living in Sapporo. Big skies, nature, good food and not crowded like Tokyo!
My main objective was to go to Moerenuma Park, a wasteland that was turned into a fabulous park designed by one of my favorite artists Isamu Noguchi. But unbeknownst to me, it was lilac season in Sapporo so decided to enjoy the lilacs and also go to the famous Botanical Gardens.
Took a taxi to the park and found out that it was really off the beaten track so arranged for the very nice cab driver to also pick me up after a couple of hours. To get there by public transportation, one has to take the subway, bus, etc which takes time. Time was limited for me so public transportation was not an option. Highly recommend the park especially if you are a Noguchi fan. It was very modern and fun. Loved the playgrounds and the landscaping. Must go there to see the genius of Noguchi.
After spending a couple of hours there I had the cab driver take me to the botanical gardens which was surprisingly enjoyable. An Ainu exhibit (very small) is also housed in the gardens which you must see. Ainu which means "human" are the indigenous tribe that lived in Sakhalin and Hokkaido. Unfortunately, it is estimated that less than 100 people know the language today. So it really is an important museum.
I then had to go to the airport to catch the one hour flight back to Tokyo. Sapporo is really a great city and Hokkaido and great island to visit. I haven't been to Hakodate and Kushiro yet but one's got to leave something to come back to!
Odori Park in the center of Tokyo: Lilacs everywhere! If only I could have captured the scent. Odori Park is most famous for the Snow Festival. I went there last time I was in Japan.
Statues of many famous poets dot the park - this is Takaboku Ishikawa
Lilacs!
Moerenuma Park
The Playground
The only cherry blossom tree still in bloom!
The landscape is magnificent
Inside the pyramid building is a small museum dedicated to Isamu Noguchi and some of his sculptures
The Botanical Gardens: Azaleas were in full bloom!
And of course, lilacs
The Handkerchief Tree. From a distance it looks like handkerchiefs hanging from the tree.
And last but not least - water lilies