Kairaku Park

On Sunday, we drove to the neighboring prefecture of Ibaraki to the town of Mito to see one of Japan’s finest landscapes. (偕楽園 is the official name)It was built in the 1800’s by a dude who liked Plum Blossoms. They bloom earlier than cherry blossoms so when they bloom, you know cherry blossom season is upon us. I think this past weekend was probably peak Plum Blossom timing for our region. So the park was very pretty. We spent the first part of the day just walking around the gardens.

Then we went on an Easter egg hunt…

After that we toured the house of the guy who commissioned it all back in the 1800’s. He was a descendent of the Tokugawa Clan, which was a pretty big deal. The house was really cool. Heather and I were talking how we’ve gained such an appreciation for Japanese architecture since we’ve been here. The house is in the center of the property and overlooks all the gardens.

Next we walked out of the gardens to a small lake with some duck boats to paddle around in. It didn’t seem that windy on shore, but once we got out in the middle, it was super windy. We could barely get back because we were getting pushed away from the docks. It wasn’t my favorite part of the day.

Then we found an old steam locomotive to climb around in and on. Nathan couldn’t get enough of it. But Caroline thoroughly enjoyed it too.

Finally before leaving we stopped for ice cream at a little shop. One of the workers spoke perfect English, which was convenient. I actually got a coffee instead of ice cream. It was starting to get chilly.

Then as we were leaving, it was all of a sudden golden hour. The photographers term for perfect sunlight which lasts for about an hour in the evening. Which gave me a chance to take some more artistic shots.