taking a break, part II

on Tuesday after dropping the kids I walked from Daikanyama, where I take a yoga class, to the Shirokanedai area of Minato-ku, to visit the grounds of the Institute for Nature Study, a collection of preserved habitats (marsh, forest, pond) in the middle of the city. It's very pretty, and the trails are quiet, except for the black crows (kyaa! kyaa!).
After that I walked over to Happo-en, a smaller, neatly-manicured, absolutely beautiful garden attached to a cafe and reception hall. The cherry blossoms have only just started coming out... I'm told that they will be out in full force by next week, when we are in Thailand (bad timing for us!). Here's a glimpse of what I'm told will erupt all over town in just a few days:

On the way to Happo-en, I took a brief, accidental detour into the Japanese garden behind the Sheraton hotel, where I saw two cool Buddha statues.
The boys, who are off school this week, were at Eriko's "holiday camp," which on Tuesday consisted of a field trip to one of the city's aquariums, and then an hour and a half of soccer at the "Think Park arena" in Osaki. (Tomorrow they go bowling in Odaiba.)

At Happo-en, I ended up chatting with this Japanese woman you can see sitting quietly by the pond in the photo above. We were leaving the garden at the same time and just started talking. She said she worked at a restaurant so I think the kimono is her uniform. We exchanged mobile phone numbers and agreed to meet up so she could practice her English and I could practice my Japanese.

Click here to view more of my pics on Flickr...