Friday, March 16, 2007

Hamarikyu Gardens

On the way to the Hamarikyu gardens, Joe and I walked through this area of Tokyo that is really just a corporate park, but looks very neat. All the buildings are connected by a walkway a few floors up, and underground by an elaborate system of hallways. I only mention this, because the buildings against the sky made for some beautiful pictures. Hamarikyu garden was just ok. Then the sun came out, and the garden was beautiful. I think the dramatic change in beauty had as much to do with Joe and my temperature comfort level, as it did with the increase in color and life of the garden. The garden, like the Emperor’s palace area, juxtaposes the greenery with the skyscrapers that surround it. Although only a few flowering trees were in bloom, there was a beautiful field of yellow flowers that Joe and I saw on our way out that was quite beautiful. Probably the most memorable part of Hamarikyu was a woman we encountered as we were sauntering through the park. This little Japanese woman, somewhat late in years, saw us and sprinted from her path, across a grass field, over to where we were walking. If this had happened in the US, we would have run away for fear that she was going to pull out a glock and rob us. In Japan, we just stayed put to see what all the commotion was about. The commotion, it seems, was mostly inside this woman’s head. Turns out she had been to American a few times, to Vegas, New York, and San Francisco and was just thrilled to see some Americans. This is one of the biggest gardens in Tokyo, visited often by Americans, so I find it hard to believe our stroll through the park could elicit her extraordinary response… but it did. According to her, she lives on the top of one of the very tall buildings that overlook the garden. After discussing nothing of import and reaffirming that this woman was off her rocker, Joe and I finally got on our way. We, however, did not get far before she ran back over and made sure we both knew just how happy she was that we were in Tokyo. We assured here, we were happy too, and we moved on. This was the kind of experience, where you look around thinking you are on some candid camera show, or where you triple check all of your valuables, because the woman was surely a diversion for some devious plot, but again, there were no cameras and we had all our valuables – it was just one of those crazy moments.




2 comments:

Sarah said...

you should be a photographer instead of a lawyer...

angelaphotos said...

love the little japanese lady story... so funny!