April 19 2009 We went to a nearby park, called Shimoda Park. There is a little lake there referred to by the Americans as Swan Lake. I'm not sure if that is it's real name. But then SAM have been giving our own names to various roads that we walk or drive frequently....it works well for us, but others look at us blankly.
info signs at the beginning of our walk.
These were about all the wildlife we saw. It was still a bit chilly and I don't think the migrating water fowl have all come back yet.
There is a little hiking trail that loops around the backside of the lake. So off we went exploring!
See! There I am! I really am here in Japan...though I guess the woods are rather non-descript and could be anywhere....no I'm really here.
Obligatory "artsy fartsy" picture. I don't know what type of flower....the sign was in Japanese.
The object of our hike/walk. This is an old watch tower (rebuilt to withstand todays toursit). It has 133 steps to get to the top.
View from the top of the tower. I had to zoom in on my camera. I think those are part of the Hokkaido chain of mountains/volcanoes. We don't see the mountains much from Misawa, there is usually clouds obscuring them.
Baseball diamond. (a parks and rec league) The soccer and baseball fields here in Misawa are all dirt. We've traveled a couple of hours south, and those were all lush grass. I'm sure it is because our spring is so late in the year. Will have to make a point of driving by again and seeing if there is grass on it now, or if they remain dirt.
View from the tower of people enjoying their Sunday afternoon.
At parks and the botanical gardens, we have found these cement chutes at the sides of long stairways. It is a slide for the kids to come down. It looks like fun....I haven't given it a whirl yet. Just polished cement....that's all....no other safety features, except for your comman sense.The way it should be.
At the bottom! I think she did it 3-4 times. I'm surprised there wasn't a hole worn in her jeans, but they barely looked the worse for the wear after she was done.
A little water feature.
On the way home we could see smoke and fire from one of the many fields. Acutally, we had seen various fields, and the water trenches being burned. Getting ready for the new plantings. During this time we could smell smoke day and night. No fires got out of hand, even if the wind was blowing. As you came across these fires, you might see one or two people out tending them, on some no one.
