Mito
Today I visited an area famous for it's plum trees and a splendid garden that dates back to few hundred years... I was served at the train station by the prettiest girl i saw so far in Japan at the Ueno station Midori no Guchi (Ticket office), Matsukawa-san. Ok enough of that...
At this place called Kairakuen (偕楽園), hundreds of plum trees and cedar trees make a beautiful landscape... and the best thing is that there is no admission fee. They have volunteer guides, which are mostly old people, explaning to tourists about the trees. They have special wheelchairs with wide wheels to let the disabled to travel more easily on the gravel paths. Somehow they know how to take care of the less fortunate people over here... You see guiding lines for the blind almost everywhere... lifts and ramps at most buidlings. Somehow these things were missing in Singapore until people made a fuss out of it.
This place is filled with local tourists, I did not even hear one person not speaking japanese. For simple commercial reasons, Very few or maybe not even one foreign tourist group can afford to include this in their itinerary, although the garden has been celebrating this plum festival for almost 200 years. This place is about 1 hour from Tokyo on the express train, and there are no attractions nearby. Making it extremely costly for groups to make a detour here. This is a pity, as this garden is one of Japanese 3 top gardens, and this is a highly respected festival among the locals.
After making observations on the train, I recalled that a Japanese old man told me that he thinks Singapore is much cleaner than Japan. I told him that I think both places are clean. After observing for this while, I got to say that probably Singapore looks more appealing with more colours and the green trees. Tokyo looks grey and black, really gloomy outlook to this place. There are very little trees, all the buildings are grey or brown, so that they are easier to maintain, and people on the streets on Tokyo like to wear black this winter/spring season... There are some places that have litter all over the place. I don't like Hong Kong for the reasons that I have mentioned, dull, grey and dirty. But why do I forgive Japan for these faults? Japanese never wish to add on to their already super stressful lifestyle, they try not to disturb people in any way, especially in those crowded trains and stations, they are usually well mannered and willing to help. Their shops make customers feel like kings. And these people really know how to enjoy good stuff... Especially having visited this wonderful garden, they really do know how to enjoy the finer things in life sometimes and they are willing to share those finer things in life. It's the people that make the place, not the buildings that make the place...
At this place called Kairakuen (偕楽園), hundreds of plum trees and cedar trees make a beautiful landscape... and the best thing is that there is no admission fee. They have volunteer guides, which are mostly old people, explaning to tourists about the trees. They have special wheelchairs with wide wheels to let the disabled to travel more easily on the gravel paths. Somehow they know how to take care of the less fortunate people over here... You see guiding lines for the blind almost everywhere... lifts and ramps at most buidlings. Somehow these things were missing in Singapore until people made a fuss out of it.
This place is filled with local tourists, I did not even hear one person not speaking japanese. For simple commercial reasons, Very few or maybe not even one foreign tourist group can afford to include this in their itinerary, although the garden has been celebrating this plum festival for almost 200 years. This place is about 1 hour from Tokyo on the express train, and there are no attractions nearby. Making it extremely costly for groups to make a detour here. This is a pity, as this garden is one of Japanese 3 top gardens, and this is a highly respected festival among the locals.
After making observations on the train, I recalled that a Japanese old man told me that he thinks Singapore is much cleaner than Japan. I told him that I think both places are clean. After observing for this while, I got to say that probably Singapore looks more appealing with more colours and the green trees. Tokyo looks grey and black, really gloomy outlook to this place. There are very little trees, all the buildings are grey or brown, so that they are easier to maintain, and people on the streets on Tokyo like to wear black this winter/spring season... There are some places that have litter all over the place. I don't like Hong Kong for the reasons that I have mentioned, dull, grey and dirty. But why do I forgive Japan for these faults? Japanese never wish to add on to their already super stressful lifestyle, they try not to disturb people in any way, especially in those crowded trains and stations, they are usually well mannered and willing to help. Their shops make customers feel like kings. And these people really know how to enjoy good stuff... Especially having visited this wonderful garden, they really do know how to enjoy the finer things in life sometimes and they are willing to share those finer things in life. It's the people that make the place, not the buildings that make the place...
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