Ride to Oi Futo Athletic Field in Shinagawa City

Today was the day of the MS track and field finals at the Oi Futo Athletic Field in Shinagawa City.  It started out being a beautiful day.  The sun was shining with only a few clouds.  Much of the ride was along streets both large and small.  I did not take many pictures going there, but I did get some pictures on the way back.

Meguro River

Crossing the Hizume-gawa River

 Christian Academy in Japan did fine.  These awards were given at lunchtime while the officials were having a break. 

 The field is near Haneda International Airport.  There were planes flying out of Haneda on a regular basis. 

Super Ambulance was written on the side.

What an interesting looking building.

Wake boarding behind the boat.

Solar panels on the side of the building!

Look Left...

Look Right

Azaleas are starting to flower.

This house caught my attention on the way down and again on the way back.  Interesting architecture for Japan.

Shortly after this picture, a thunderstorm moved in.  It started to rain pretty heavily.  I took cover at a couple of places when the rain was getting pretty bad.  By the time I came to Hoya, the streets were dry and the rains had not come yet.  I did make it home before the storm arrived at my house.
I have been looking forward to this bicycle ride for about a month now.

This was the route back home, 2 hours and 53 minutes, which included the stopping for picture taking, city bicycling and waiting for the rain to pass.  The ride down was 33.3 km in 2 hours and 19 minutes. 

I was soaked when I got home but happy.

I am always grateful that I can bicycle safely here, even going through downtown Tokyo.  There are many beautiful sites to see and when seeing them on bicycle, I find I can appreciate them and even stop to admire them as I go.
This weekend is a long weekend for Golden week.  I am grateful for some time away from school to be able to rest.  I pray you too will have a good weekend.  

Bicycle Rides on a Couple of Saturdays

We have entered the season where I can go on bicycle rides.  The weather has been beautiful sunny days with not so hot temperatures.  Both days I ended up at the Arakawa but actually went along the river in different areas. 
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Here is the path of the bicycle ride. 

 

Sakura is still blooming.

A great day for fishing.  He was well equipped.

Panoramic view on top of the levee.

 

The second trip was on Saturday, April 20th.  I also ended up at the Arakawa but went to totally different route. 

Wow, altitude change was more than I thought, but there were a few steep hills.

Lovely purple flowers

Yanesegawa, much further downstream from where I used to walk.

A great day for some golf.

Sky Tree way out in the distance.

Happy to be back home again!

I find that the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter, is a day full of anticipation for Easter, waiting to celebrate Jesus' resurrection.  This was a good way to spend a few hours.  Bicycling allows me to see the sights, exercise and just enjoy being outside.  I hope you enjoyed the photo journey. 
Happy Easter!  He is Risen, He has risen, indeed!  

Spring Break 2019

This week we had Spring Break.  I have been focusing on doing some of my course work, but I also was able to do some fun things as well.  Monday and Tuesday were course work days and I didn't get out much.
Wednesday, I went to see the movie Bumblebee at United Cinemas with a couple of friends.  One thing I love about watching movies in the theaters here in Japan, is that it is generally quiet throughout the movie.  They also require that you shut off your phone and to monitor your noise level while you're eating. You also stay all the way to the end of the credits.  The lights don't come on until the end.  :) 

The Bumblebee that was a yellow Volkswagen Bug

The movie was entertaining and a good movie to see during spring break and an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.
Since I am Pastoral Support Coordinator at Tokyo Union Church, I have the privilege of meeting with the pastors to see if there is anything that can be done to help them.  I was able to arrange a meeting with Pastor Johann on Thursday morning.  I typically take the train to church.  There are only two parking spots by church, so driving isn't really such a good idea.  It can also take longer to drive than to take the train.  I had toyed with bicycling, but the weather was a bit iffy, so I took the train.  I do live about a kilometer and a half away from the Kiyose station.  I can take a bus or I can bicycle.  They have a large bicycle parking lot under the plaza by the station.  It only costs 100 yen, so usually bicycle to the station and catch the train. 

Panoramic picture of the bicycle parking (taken on Sunday, March 24th)

During the week, the bicycle parking can be super full, with many of the top rows filled up.  I have a bicycle with baskets and usually they don't go so well on the second tier, so Thursday I decided to walk to the train station instead of bicycling.  The bus schedule wasn't timed well and I made it to the station before the bus arrived. 
Harajuku, where the church is located, is a high end shopping district.  There are stores like Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Dior, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger.  They are a bit too expensive for me.  After my meeting, I did some wandering around.  There are some interesting things to see around that shopping district, not all the stores carry expensive merchandise.  You will fine more foreigners in this area than in Kiyose where I live.  I find there is more English, but it doesn't always make much sense.

"A Bathing Ape In Lukewarm Water 1997" Store is called BAPY

I stopped in the Apple Store and one of my favorite gadget stores, Flying Tiger.  It is a store that is carries a lot of merchandise from Copenhagen. This store is like an IKEA store, where you follow a path throughout the store walking by all the merchandise. 

At one of the stations near by another English sign.

"My City, My House The Theme is Beautiful Communication"

Friday, I went for a 30 km bicycle ride with a friend.  It was a sort of destination bicycle ride, with a couple of activities at a couple of our destinations.  We headed towards Tachikawa.  We stopped at this cute little cafe that served coffee and sandwiches.  It is a sort of mom and pop type cafe that looked like it was in a house.  You walked into a room where they had tables and a kitchen behind the counter.  We were warm from our bicycle ride, so opted to sit outside.  What is really nice about Japan, is if you sit outside by a restaurant or cafe, many times they have blankets available.  This little cafe had blankets.  The owners were concerned with us getting cold, they brought out them out for us.  The coffee was served in a cup and saucer, but we didn't have matching cups and saucer.  I loved the uniqueness of this place.

After having good coffee, we moved on to the next destination.  A place where you can have a foot bath.  The water is wonderfully warm.  We sat with our feet in the water for almost an hour.

There were beautiful tulips planted in gardens around the baths.

Taken from where we were sitting.

The super hot foot bath. 

After our foot bath, we headed over to Starbucks for a coffee and a light lunch.  We went back home after that.  It was a great ride with fun things to do.   
I do not have any special plans for the rest of the week.  It has been a good week with a balance of writing papers and entertainment.  Monday we start again for our final push to the end of the school year.  I am very grateful for weeks that allow for different routines and rest.