Central Park in Utsunomiya and Knife Shopping Japan

Today is a little cloudy, but by noon the sun was shining bright as it has every day we have been in Japan.  Keiko has decided to take us to Central Park here in Utsunomiya.  We are going to see the beauty of the park along with a surprise to see the fall flower displays of Chrysanthemum.  In Japanese, it is called Kiku. Some of the blossoms were the largest I have ever seen!  Look at Marlon's hand next to one blossom.

 Entrance to Central Park

  The beauty of this park is breathtaking.  The fall colors are popping of red, yellow, orange & green.

The line of tall trees along the sidewalk forming a canopy of golden beauty.  500,000 people live in Utsunomiya but the noise from the city is not heard.  I think the barrier is the trees which makes an excellent sound barrier.

The bright colors of the trees seem like a bright light in this park.  The beauty I cannot explain nor can my pictures faithfully portray the beauty of fall in Central Park.

 Exploring Utsunomiya with the best guide Keiko.  It has been a wonderful experience staying at Keiko & Yugi's house.

 Strolling through Central Park.

In Central Park, there is a large pond with a fountain.  A stream lined with stones, filled with koi fish with a wooden bridge that connects one little island to another. I wish everyone were here to enjoy this beautiful place with me.

Well, its time for some lunch so we are off to town.  As we were walking down Union Street Keiko said there was a place she always wanted to try but only sees males going in and out and didn't want to go in by herself.  We spotted the place and went in.  It was a very small place with o my 2 or three tables but also provided as delivery service by scooter.  I'm so glad we did try it, the ramen was so delicious.  Very good broth, rich in flavor.

RAMEN LUNCH

 

 After finishing lunch, we are off to ORION DORI, which is an outdoor covered shopping area.  More shopping at Tobu department store that had a temporary display of items from Kyoto.....This shopping area is where Keiko took Marlon to shop for his knife MADE in Kyoto.  Kyoto is famous for its knives. After much shopping he decided on the knife he wanted and purchased :-)

 

Time for a coffee break and a sweet treat.  Made a pit stop for some siphon coffee and some sweets at a french bakery. Yummy!

 

Rainy Days & Mondays Never Get Me Down in Japan Utsunomiyia

Love the way you tear open the packets of coffee and pour your hot water over.  Great way to start the day.

Now down to the lobby for some breakfast.

Visited the fairy museum but no photos allowed.  Elaborate fairy doll displays and pictures of fairies along with old books were fascinating.  We looked at some photos with an eyeglass to find some hidden fairies in a photo.

We visited the Utsunomiya Futarayama Shrine which is located on the top of Mt. Myojin in the center of Utsunomiya City. History states that after being burned down several times, the shrine was reconstructed into his present form in 1877. Boasting an ancient history of about 1600 years, the shrine is closely tied to the lives of the residents through their prayers against misfortune and for academic success, so many worshipers come to visit. There were lots of people there for being so early in the morning.

   Lots of steps to get to the top to reach the shrine. 

 After our visit to the Futarayama Shrine, we ventured down the street to view Chestnut Street hoping to see some fall foliage.  Leaves are beginning to turn and since it has been raining, a lot of leaves have been knocked off the trees.

We have reached our next touring location called the Modern Tochigi Prefecture Office.

The modern Tochigi Prefecture Office is impressive. The building is a 15 story, 81 meter-tall building and has a small museum/shop exhibiting and selling traditional products from Tochigi Prefecture. Also at the top is a restaurant with terrific views and wonderful food made from local ingredients. We were all impressed with the view of Utsunomiya from atop this building.

Beautiful views of the city

I enjoyed looking at all the things that Utsunomiya is known for.

Some construction going on as we left and the road barriers always have some character on them.  This location has the Tochigi boy.

 We have reached the popular shopping haven Orion Dori (street).  Lots and lots of stores and shops.  Mary and I found some cute skirts with pants attached to our granddaughters.  GREAT FIND I'm sure they will love their gifts.

I'm getting hungry, time to find some gyoza (aka stickers) which is what Utsunomiya is famous for.  Just for a fun fact, Utsunomiya earned the #1 Dumpling City as it beats its rival city Hamamatsu.  Lots of varieties of fillings in gyoza making it good for all. We stopped in a small shop in Orion Dori to eat some gyoza.  Great place to stop for a small plate of delicious dumplings.

Shopping and saw this, how cute?

Decided Mary needed to enjoy a pastry from our favorite cafe.  Marlon and I both got siphon coffee, very interesting watching the coffee being made.  

We are now heading back to the hotel.  We took a stroll down by the stream and enjoyed the sounds of the water rushing and the pretty fall colors.  It's still raining but that has not stopped us from enjoying Japan.  Stopped to see the Buddha of the 3 Beans .   

Since it's been raining all day the water is flowing very fast down the rain chain.  Enjoy

On our way back to the hotel we followed this stream and, as you can see, leaves are just starting to turn beautiful colors. 

We are now getting closer to the hotel and the Tagawa River is rising from the rain.  Prior to our arrival in Japan, typhoon Hagibis hit Japan.  It was considered to be the most devastating typhoon to hit Japan since 1958.  As of Oct. 20, 2019, 86 people have been confirmed dead and 8 others are still missing.  If you look closely at the pictures you can see just how high the water was.  Lots of debris in every post along the river.

 Finally back to the hotel after a long rainy day.  Rested and then walked to the Volcano Ramen restaurant for some delicious ramen. 

When they bring you the ramen and pour in the sauce you have to hold the paper in front of you to prevent being splashed by the hot bubbling mixture.  Do not put your face in the steam as it hot.

 

Our final stop was Samurai's nicknamed Sammy's, for a nightcap.  Mary and I had a drink named chu-hi made from a Japanese liquor (Sho-chu) and orange something,  It sure helped us relax.