Summer in Saitama 2020 – Things are a lot different this summer in the shadow of the Coronavirus outbreak. For one, summer holidays are much shorter for most people, whether you are a child or an adult. Then of course there is the fact that the majority of our belovedRead More →
Riverside hydrangea, Okegawa. Sometimes it pays to get lost. I was attempting to go to one of the three safflower fields in Okegawa today. The safflower where nowhere in sight and I thought that both I and Google had remembered the place incorrectly. So I opted to abandon Google mapsRead More →
Five year old really wanted to play in some water today. However, most of the water play areas in parks are closed on account of the Coronavirus. It was a blessing in disguise, because instead we went to a Suzumegawa Sabo Dam park with a natural river. My favorite kind!Read More →
Spring flowers at the flower oasis “Hana no Oasis” in Konosu. Hana no Oasis, Konosu Hana no Oasis is a community garden. It is located in a rural area of Konosu amid dozens of paddy fields. The garden is landscaped through the seasons with seasonal blooms. It isn’t particularly big,Read More →
Do you like to plan outings in advance? Had you plans for this month (April) that came to a sudden halt with the onset of Coronavirus? Maybe you were supposed to be travelling overseas? Or domestically? Was there a concert you were supposed to go to or a get togetherRead More →
Azalea Monomiyama Park – In the last week of March (2020) I brought the kids to Monomiyama Park in Higashimatsuyama for an off the beaten path hanami. The cherry blossoms in the park are beautiful, but as they are in quite a remote location (although close to the children’s zoo)Read More →
Cherry blossoms and Rapeseed in Yoshimi Town, Hiki District, Saitama. There are several places you can see cherry blossoms and rapeseed in Saitama Prefecture, just north of Tokyo. Kumagaya and Gongendo Park in Satte are probably the most famous. And for good reason as the scenery is truly stunning. ButRead More →
Happy Spring Park – Shinrin Park is Saitama’s largest and arguably best park. However, it is also one of the few that charge you to enter. Most of their activities cost extra too. It was Japan’s first national park, constructed as part of a Meiji centennial project. It’s official name isRead More →
January flowers, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. A week in photos. January 2020 week one. I say it often, because it is true, but my favorite month in Japan is January. There is so much to do in Japan in January. And as it is one of the driest months of theRead More →
Saitama flowers – I’m writing up my “want to go” list for 2020 and reflecting on the year gone by. In 2019 lots of places were crossed off my want-to-go list, but a few I didn’t make it to will naturally be added to the 2020 list. I did soRead More →