The Neighbourhood

Typical street scene in my neighbourhood.  People walking and cycling, few cars, grey, beige and brown buildings.

Shinjuku Gyoen

Tokyo residents enjoy making the most of open spaces on a sunny Sunday.  Shinjuku-gyoen National Garden is 53 hectare park in a densely populated, neon light, bustling area of Shinjuku.

The extensive gardens feature glades of maples and cherry and plum blossom trees along with a greenhouse, an English landscape garden, a Japanese Traditional garden and a French formal garden.  The pruning (Sue) in the French gardens with both exact and extreme.  The branches on the tall sycamores were loped, the azaleas and camellias were trimmed into balls, the hedges were straight and the roses neatly pruned for spring flowering.

Baby Snow Monkey

Snow monkey families were enjoying the hot springs and the snow.

Tuesday Temples - The Return

Temples, temples and temples.  Not as many as Laos, but I have been visiting some temples in Japan.

Zenko-ji Temple in Nagano is a National Treasure.  It is home to a statue the Ikko-Sanzon, the first Buddhist image to arrive in Japan.  However no one has ever seen it, although millions of visitors arrive every seven years to view a replica image.

This lion incense burner is in the foreground of the temple.  People were rubbing the base of the burner and wafting the incense into their face and hair and over their body to ward off bad luck.

Snow Monkey 3

A rather sad looking snow monkey contemplating bathing in the hot springs.

Snow Monkey 2

Jumping Monkey!

Snow Monkeys

Last week on the way to Myoko I made a side trip to visit the snow monkeys.

From Wikipedia The Japanese macaque Macaca fuscata), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. They get their name "snow monkey" because they live in areas where snow covers the ground for months each year – no other nonhuman primate is more northern-living, nor lives in a colder climate.  Individuals have brown-grey fur, red faces, and short tails.

Japanese macaques live in matrilineal societies, and females stay in their natal groups for life, while males move out before they are sexually mature. Many males spend ample time away from any group and may leave and join several groups