Seeing the need to exercise and burn some calories, Atsushi and I were determined to go out and explore even when it was terribly humid what with nowadays being the peak of summer.

I initially proposed to go to Taya Cave and then to the Zoological Garden but thinking that it was already 1pm and we’re yet to set out and the sightseeing places close at 4:30, I urged Atsushi to go to Mitsuike Park in Tsurumi area instead.

Mitsuike Park is considered one of the 100 best places to go for hanami or sakura/cherry blossoms watching in Japan and the only one among the list that’s located in Yokohama. They boast over 1600 sakura tress with a number of sakura varieties.

They even have a variety that blooms not only in early Spring but in October ~ December as well. Curious.

My best friends and I went there years back (and I distinctly remember it was a month before Atsushi and I worked together 😀 ) but we went there towards the end of the sakura season already so we weren’t able to witness its full glory. Still though, the place was still beautiful even with only a few lingering sakuras.

Got above photo from my other personal and teetering-to-being-defunct blog because I can’t find yet my set of photos during this trip.

Now that it’s summer though, the place is wholly green.

Some kids were having fun catching small fishes with their handheld nets.

There was a man-made stream near the bench where we rested and the sound of trickling water indeed helped us relax some more.

I wonder if the designers of this fountain had Zen in mind when they made it.

So yes, even sans the flowers (and sans the hotdogs which we thoroughly enjoyed during our last visit there!), we still got what we looked for – a place to relax and enjoy nature and at the same time get some much-needed exercise albeit it’s just walking.

Thinner us?Hoping.

It’s easy to reach really. One can take the bus from Tsurumi station to get to the place. If you’re worried where to take the bus, just look for the friendly map near the station exits. Direction points bus station is accessible from the train station’s West Exit.

As is typical with any Japanese bus stations, the route of the bus is displayed by the bus stop.

Yes, it’s in Kanji so you just have to memorize the Kanji character of your sightseeing destination which in this case is 三ッ池公園北門.

What I love with trains and buses here in Japan is that they also post train and bus schedules hence very convenient for planning tours.

And mind you these schedules are strictly followed although buses can sometimes be delayed by a minute or two.

Bus fair from Tsurumi station to Mitsuike Koen is 210 yen.

Let’s go there come Spring, shall we? 😀

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A side story.

There was a Book Off outlet by the bus station and so Atsushi urged me to go there after our Mitsuike Koen walk. We went home 9 books richer but 5,000yen poorer. Thankfully they’re all second hand books so it’s really much much cheaper than they should have been. This time though, half of the purchases are mine. Bookworms!