arakawa park light-up : March 26 2025

March 2025 · 4 min read · Arakawa

this was how it was supposed to be, all lighted up creating a soft glow. but that is not what happened.

i initially just wanted to go to the gym and walk on the treadmill. there was no other plan really. after the gym session though, i remembered that i was supposed to buy some mouthwash. and that led me to where we are now.

went to the grocery store with that intention. but the store was near the park, very close in fact. and then i remembered the light-up from last night. so i planned to go again this time and write about it for tonight's entry. it was intentionally left out in yesterday's post, the entry would have been too long without a clear topic.

so here i am today walking towards the nearby park, with the intention of writing an entry about the light-up.

arakawa park

located in front of the ward hall (or city hall?!?) this park was opened in july of 1968. people who have some business with the ward hall will first get to enjoy the park. but not much is written about park although i noticed that it always have some activity which changes dramatically with the seasons. the stream or tiny river runs during the summer, the accent tree leaves turn yellow in autumn, and of course cherry blossoms in spring. (well in winter, only pine trees remain with leaves, does that count?)

now that spring is here, here are the early bloomers last night. one tree was conveniently close to a walkway so taking a close up pic was a bit easier. this was the somei yoshino variety of cherry blossoms. yes, apparently these flowers have different varieties as well and the most commonly cultivated was this type. this park also has the shidare sakura variety or the japanese weeping cherry tree named after its drooping branches. i haven't seen those anywhere though, and that was partly because there was no light up.

the park was dark, the lanterns were there but turned off. that was such a let down. but i guess it was too late when i arrived. those sakura pictures above where taken in night mode. plan failed big time. so here i am, sharing the pictures i took the night before.

it was but a small park, nothing like the massive parks in shinjuku or the other park i visited last night. no gates nor walls, the park is accessible any time of the day. these ginkgo trees turn yellow in autumn but as of now they are pretty much bald. i was walking behind this couple when i went the last time. (narrative stops there, let us not have envy in our hearts.)

here is one of the lighted walkways. from the first picture, i suppose that leafless and flowerless branches must be the shidare sakura variety. they looked droopy enough to me but still had no flowers. i wonder why they do not bloom at the same time when they were planted in a relatively close area? even trees of the same variety, some were still buds. i wonder which clock they follow and what determines their blooming time.

that is how the lanterns looked in a slightly darker tone.

i also went there this monday and this plant had the best blooms then. good thing i took pictures, all the petals have already fallen off last night.

i was there last saturday too and took this picture still with buds. this haven't bloomed till now. but on second thought, is this even a sakura? my bad! but my point is that it would have been a bigger impact if all bloomed together. oh well, it is impossible to control nature. and i guess that is why we must live on the present and appreciate what we have now, rather than think too much and completely miss the beauty that once was.

as always, AMPING KANUNAY!