Garyu Koen 臥竜公園

I never knew it would be so beautiful. Though some of the petals had fallen, the trees looked as full of blossoms as I could have immagined. The gentle wind was floating the falling pettals from the branches of the trees which adorn the lake, to the well walked paths lined with matsuri style vender stands. Some petals found themselves resting atop the heads of those passing by, often looking to satisfy their appetites with O-den on a stick, or their children with high priced carnival toys. However, a great number of the petals, some after having carpeted the fenced-off shores, were blown upon the water. The result was a lake of petals, a heaven on earth, and a scene I will never forget.

The beauty of a lake of petals, however, is not best enjoyed from the shore. For a few hundred yen I rented a rowboat and with my akward stroke, gave our friends a tour of the lake. We passed under the red Japanese style foot bridge, and enjoyed the warm spring sun, leaving a wake vacant of petals as the boat moved through the water. Then taking my sweet wife and dear mother, we passed under overhanging branches weighed down with blossoms, and reaching up, Monica plucked a bundle of blossoms and put them in her hair above her ear. We stopped at a certain point where the petals seemed to gather, near the small waterfall coming from the spring a small ways off. I hardly took my eyes off Monica, for the lake of petals only enhanced the charm of her smile. Oh, if I was not already married to my wife, I think I would have proposed.
Little Ammon found his pleasure as well, sitting in the lap of his grandma in the shade of the trees filled with popcorn, he ate his O-nigiri with delite, and then learned to ride a wooden horse on springs. Certainly, this was a day in the park much like a day in paradise, in a place called Garyu ( 臥竜 ), or "Reclining Dragon" which will not soon be forgotten.