Happy 75th Birthday Yuji

Wakayama Farm Strolling through Bamboo in Japan -Romantic Village -Hide

Special thanks to Hide & Kumi Nagao for taking us on this lovely trip.  

 A huge chestnut grove started off our walk through the Wakayama Farms.  The spines on the outside of the chestnut are sharp.

 The first bamboo we see is the Madake bamboo. Madake bamboo is the oldest in Japan.  

 Loved the tunnel the Moso bamboo made. A light sprinkling of rain is starting. The bamboo plants are keeping the rain off of us.

Madake bamboo has grown in Japan for centuries. It can reach heights of 66 feet and about 5 inches in diameter. The joints between the sections of madake are soft which makes it easy to cut. This type of bamboo is suitable for basket weaving and the production of fans.

Moso bamboo reaches about 66 feet and its diameter is about 8 inches. Moso bamboo is generally cultivated for its edible shoots, which are generally eaten in the spring. This bamboo is the tallest and most popular.

Kikko means tortoise-shell. This type of bamboos nodes is alternately close together.  This is known as a mutation type.  This bamboo tree on the bottom part looks like a tortoiseshell but the top part of it is in normal form.

Kinimei Moso Bamboo is yellow gold.  We could see the bright yellow as we got closer to this huge grove of bamboo trees. There have been several films done here. Can you find Kumi hiding in the bamboo?  

They illuminate the bamboo on weekends,  this is one of the lights.

We turned the corner and there were 2 huge swings made of bamboo. So much fun to sit and swing.  We each took a turn swinging, Marlon gave Hide an extra push to make him go higher.

Bamboo sculpture

Time to end the fun at the Bamboo garden.  Going to go check out the gift shop.

The next destination is Romantic Village.

 

Craft brewery located in this area.  Donna and Kumi are window shopping.

 

Dinner tonight was 2 different kinds of food at one location, Chinese or Indian. :-)

Donna's meal, Indian butter chicken curry.

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!