Kurihama Flower Park

Today we finally fulfilled something that the girls have been looking forward to since we first considered coming to Japan, and Sister Tweed told us about the amazing Japanese roller slide...

We started off with taking the wrong train, of course.  But it was only a short side trip, then we made it to Kurihama. 

It was a walk to the flower park, but it didn't seem to long on the way there.  The way back when we were tired seemed very long, especially for Misses A and R.  

I liked this wall with the trimmed vine covering it.

The flower park was very nice, definitely a place I want to visit every couple months at least.  They were just planting the entry bed.  The rest of the park looked pretty rough.  Japan had a record hot summer, and also a record number of typhoons.  The cosmos that are supposed to be the main show right now were trashed.  But the set up is nice, and there's lots of potential.

There is a fairly steep climb up the hill to where the playground is, lined with hydrangea bushes.  There were a few confused shrubs still blooming.

Finally, we got to the Godzilla slide! 

We had been told that the roller slide by Godzilla was not very fun, but the girls, and Grandma, had a wonderful time.  There were crowds of Japanese children on it, I think from a preschool or kindergarten.  They were so very cute.  Crowds of them stood around Grandma and I and stared at us.  They were very friendly, and kept saying "hello", and "bye bye" when they would pass us. 

They each had a final run on Godzilla, then we continued up the mountain.

We found the other playground, which had a very fun zip line, and a huge slide.  Among the playground equipment are big beds of massed perennials, so it's pretty much an ideal spot for our family.  There was a very nice bunch of scented geraniums.  I'm so glad I have plant friends that help me feel at home wherever I find myself. 

The walk back down the mountain and to the train station was pretty long, made longer by some serious whining...  But at the station we found a bakery.  Seriously, Japanese bakeries are astoundingly good.  We saw a stand  that makes the yummy black bean pancake things that we tried on top of Mt. Takao. 

We didn't get one today, but it's nice to know where I can find them.  We tried some cream puffs from a place called Beard Papa's.  Man, they were so very good.  And I just found out that there is a location at our nearest train station...  That frequent buyer card might come in handy.  

Here is my translation sign of the day: