autumn
Utrecht
Utrecht is a city in the Netherlands not very far south of Amsterdam. Utrecht’s ancient city centre features many buildings and structures dating from the Middle Ages. I went there for a day last september and walked around.
Shalimar Gardens
The Shalimar Gardens (sometimes written as Shalamar Gardens) are a Mughal garden complex located in Lahore, Pakistan. It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan (of Taj Mahal fame) in the mid-17th century. The gardens have been laid out from south to north in three levels of terraces. In the terraces, there are basins with 410 fountains in total. Unfortunately, none of them were working while I was there.
Autumn dusk at Hama-Rikyu Garden
Hamarikyu Garden is a public park in Chuo, Tokyo. It is located at the mouth of the Sumida River and surrounded by a seawater moat filled by Tokyo Bay. It was remodeled as a public garden park on the site of a villa of the Shogun Tokugawa family from the 17th century.
Autumn at Kyu-Furukawa Garden
Kyu-Furukawa Garden is a park in Kita City, Tokyo. The park includes an old western-style building designed by architect Josiah Conder, a rose garden, and a traditional Japanese-style garden.
Lake Tama
Lake Tama is an artificial lake in Higashiyamato City, in western Tokyo, right at the border with Saitama Prefecture. It was formed by damming up a river running through the Sayama valley, a project started in 1916 and completed in 1927. The lake now serves as a water reservoir for the residents of Tokyo.
The lake is surrounded by parks and forests and there is a popular cycling course extending from Nishitokyo City to Lake Tama. North of the lake towards Lake Sayama lies the Seibu Dome, home of the Saitama Seibu Lions baseball team. Also worthy of a visit are the buddhist Yamaguchi Kannon Konjoin (山口観音 金乗院) and Sayama Fudoson (狭山不動尊) temples.
Hike to Mount Iwatakeishi & Mount Bounoore
A few weeks ago, I went back to Mitake to continue the trail to Mount Bounoore (aka Mount Bounomine) I had planned to do then but abandoned due to the fog.