Japan Trip 2019, Day 24: Hanami, and the sea

I’ll start today’s post with the important stuff – a report on my ankle! It’s a little sore, has a nice bruise developing, but is functional. I thank everyone for their concern. I was pretty lucky, really, and put some of it down to Japanese hotel facilities. Japanese hotels, like American ones, tend to have free ice dispensers (and, luckily for me, there was one right in the coin laundry room which had the strange step I tripped on). Also, Japanese hand towels tend to be longer and narrower than ours. So, I got some ice, rolled it in the handtowel, and wrapped that tightly around my ankle for about half an hour soon after it happened. That, and then strapping it overnight, helped a lot I think.

Hitachi Seaside Park

The three top sights for Mito were listed in most tourist sites and guides as Kairakuen (seen yesterday), Kōdōkan (seen the day before), and Hitachi Seaside Park, which, in fact, is not exactly in Mito itself. It is based in the nearby city of Hitachinaka, and required a 6-minute train trip to Katsuta, followed by a 15-minute bus ride to the park. It was all very easy, in fact. When we got to Katsuta, we walked to the bus area and saw a couple of people sitting at a desk selling tickets which, for Seniors (in this case, over 65), gave us the return bus-trip plus entrance to the Park for JPY1000. (A similar thing happened for our Tomioka Silk Factory trip. At the private rail line we needed to use, we were sold a return train ticket that included admission to the factory site. So straightforward, so painless.)

Hitachi Seaside Park is most famous for the beautiful flower displays it has in large gardens throughout the year. Spring is, of course, its peak, with beds of narcissuses, tulips and nemophila (baby blue eyes). It is most famous, in fact, for its nemophila. In autumn, when we were there of course, there are crimson-turning kochia (summer cypress), cosmos of various colours, buckwheat (soba), pampas grass, and roses, to be seen. On the guide map it says “a refreshing breeze blowing through the flowers and a greenery filled city park”.

The park has an interesting background. The main mass flower displays are found on Miharashi Hill (which, by the way, is a whole 58 metres above sea level). This hill used to be a military airport called Mitohigashi Airport and after the war it became a firing and bombing range for the US Air Force. After the land was returned to Japan in 1973, the local people developed Hitachi Seaside Park as a symbol of peace. And so it was that the hill where many bombs and bullets had been fired (and, due to accidents, a small number of people killed) was turned to a hill dedicated to the display of pretty flowers.

However, this park is more than Miharashi Hill. It is large and all-purpose, with an amusement park (ferris wheel, etc), a BMX course, lawns, an historic “village”, sculptures, a stage, and many other specialist gardens. We spent a wonderful day exploring it. And we weren’t the only ones. It might have been a Thursday, but the park was full of people (mostly, but not entirely, retirees and mums with young children), enjoying the gorgeous day and the various things the park has to offer.

Some highlights

• The little historic “village”, Miharashi no sato, which comprises just three houses, two of them thatched. They were built during early 17th and 18th century, and have been designated as a cultural property by Ibaraki Prefecture. They were relocated here from Mito, if I understand correctly.
• The flower displays, of course.
• Meeting a retired couple from Saitama (just out of Tokyo). They, particularly the woman, were very friendly. One thing I haven’t mentioned before is how un-coy (if that’s a word) Japanese are about age. For them it isn’t rude to ask someone their age, and we’ve had this happen a couple of times during our trip. This woman asked us our ages and then offered that she was 71 and her husband 73. She was thrilled with Google Translate which Len showed her, and enjoyed talking into it to ask us questions (such as, “how did you work out what to see in Kanazawa?”)
• The Glass House, a stunning café, comprising big glass windows for most of its walls. It has a sort of infinity pool in which potted flowers seemed to float, succeeded in the further distance, by views of the Pacific Ocean. It served cheap, modest food. In Australia such a venue would be a fancy restaurant!
• The scattered sculptures (about which I can’t find much.)

But, along with highlights go, of course, the opposite. The last thing I needed today was a squat toilet, but Murphy’s Law and all that … hmmm. And while on the subject, I was interested that, at the Museum of Modern Art Ibaraki, which was built in 1990, half the toilets in the Ladies were “Western”, and half were “Japanese” (aka squat) toilets. Clearly, many (some) Japanese prefer their traditional toilets. In a sense I don’t blame them. Who needs to pay for a gym when you can get good squatting exercise going about your business (!! haha). I mean this seriously, really – it’s just that we Westerners are not used to it.

I haven’t properly explained today’s post title. Hanami means “flower viewing”, and describes the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers. I understand that conventionally, or traditionally, this refers to enjoying sakura (cherry) or “ume” (plum) blossoms in spring. However, I don’t see why I can’t use it for what we and hundreds of other people did today. The second part of the post title, the sea, is a little ironic, because although the park is called Hitachi Seaside Park, you don’t easily see the sea, and when you do, from Mirahashi Hill, for example, the sea view is dominated by a port and thermal power station. You can look away if you try, but it’s not easy!

And all too soon, it was our last night…

Len put some effort into finding something special for tonight, though it wasn’t easy in what is, in fact, quite a small city (around 270,000 people). However, he found an izakaya within walking distance of our hotel that seemed to have good ratings and recommendations. Even though I love them, I’m always a little nervous stepping into these usually small places. You can feel very exposed. Fortunately, this one, like most, welcomed us in. It had no English menu – which is good because you know you are having the real deal, but is also bad because working out what to have can be a bit of a challenge. However, between us all, we managed to order a salad, sashimi (of tuna), grilled fish, and tempura vegetables. It was all delicious. So, while it wasn’t our usual up-market last-night-restaurant, it was the perfect place for the end of this trip.

For drinks Len had beer, the only beer on tap, and, although there was a “vin blanc” sitting in the fridge, I pointed to a mid-priced sake in the sake list. It, whatever it was, was a lovely smooth drink.

And some Stills …

And some Movies …

Click here to view today’s video and audio clips.

Today’s Challenges …

• Coping with Sue’s twisted ankle (which turned out to be not too much of a challenge at all)
• Finding a special place for our last evening meal in Japan (this trip)
• Wondering/worrying about the Super-typhoon that is on its way and has caused the cancellation of two World Cup rugby matches! How will it affect our flight?