On a warmer day visiting Disney land last month we came across another celebration of Halloween. While very similar to previous years the outstanding efforts this year were the guys dressed up with tails (still blows me away that teenage boys/early 20’s men) dress up as a group for a day a Disney land).
Of course there was the parade – can’t go past that for a spectacle.
After emerging from the subway station and entering the traditional Kiyosumi gardens it's easy to forget that you are in Tokyo even with only a thin barrier of foliage separating you from busy Tokyo streets. The Tokyo metropolitan government has rightly designated the Kiyosumi gardens as a place of scenic beauty.
The original gardens are thought to date back to the Edo era (around 300 years ago) and cover an area of about 81,000 square metres.
The current gardens were reconstructed 150 years ago with 55 huge water worn rocks moved to the site from all over Japan.
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Out and about
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The lake in Kiyosumi gardens has three manicured islands and a teahouse on the pond. The lake also contains a number of stepping stones (isowatari) along the banks of the lake and across small inlets.
There are a number of fountains spread around the garden and it is apparent that the small entry fee is spent on maintaining the garden in great shape.
As you walk around the lake shore and cross bridges and stepping stone curious carp and turtles come begging for food.
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Out and about
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Shinagawa Kumin Park, or ward residents park, is a landscaped park created in 1987 by filling in part of a canal. This gives the park a rather narrow, elongated, look but does allow water for a lake that is central to the park as well as also being filtered and pumped into an artificial stream.
With a mix of attractions (an aquarium, restaurants, shops and swimming pools) there is a lot on offer. I took the opportunity just to relax in the gardens and escape the hustle and bustle of the city just metres from the front gate of the park.
The landscaping in the park, and the great mix of trees, water and rock features make this a very pleasing place to visit and wile away some time.
After a few false starts we finally managed to organise a boat to go sea bass fishing in Tokyo bay. We headed to Chiba at 6 am and hired a boat for about 200 Australian dollars for 6 hours (not bad) and then headed out to the bay.
On the way out we passed the Chiba ship yards with boats in various stages of completeness and a huge crane carrying a piece of break wall.
In one of the bays there was a reminder of the recent earthquake where a refinery had caught fire.
Apparently fishing for sea bass involves finding structure and casting your lure, or fly, in under the structure in an attempt to encourage the fish to come out and play. Given the number of people out fishing there were plenty of invitations to come out and play but very few takers. One of the guy's I was fishing with did manage to hook one sea bass out from under a jetty but it didn’t make it to the boat.
At one of the jetty’s we visited we did spot a number of fish lurking under the surface but none of the fish wanted to play so we had to move on.
Ahh the beauty and serenity of fishing.
All too soon the session was over and it was time to head home. The one thing I will remember most about this particular fishing experience was the “industrial” nature of the whole experience (and the wonderful refinery smells).
