Sunday in the Park

We spend a lot of time at a lot of different parks lately. Being home with the kids and no backyard means we need to find somewhere to work energy off. I like parks because they are free. I prefer going in the morning, right after breakfast. We know the kids who go at the same time. For now we break these trips up with days at the beach but it won't be long until jellyfish and the cold force us on ground for the season.

My favourite, though, is Sunday at the park in the big city. We might not live near Tokyo, but some days it feels like we do. Weekday mornings are just kids and their moms in the playground, and that scene could be anywhere in the world. But Sundays are when the blue collar workers who only have one day off a week come out to play.

This last Sunday was one of the best days in a park I've had. We stopped by after having a steak lunch (have I raved enough about weekend lunches in Japan? great courses for around ¥1000- I love it!) so I could nurse Cupcake before we moseyed on out of the city.

First stop- an old car exhibition. Just some guys who took their old cars out to show off. My favourite was the 1965 Daihatsu Midget- a 3-wheeled, one-seater milk truck. What struck me was just how small every car was. If you saw the same kind of thing in Canada, guys showing off their cars from the '60s and '70s, they would be huge! You could fit 3 of these tiny Daihatsus or Datsuns in a single Chevy Impala!

In other parts of the park there were some guys painting, a yoga session, some beat-boxers and some skateboarders. You could probably see this in other parts of the world too, maybe not at the same time though.

Little Fish's favourite place is in the water with the other kids, natch. Of course we never intend to go swimming and I never bring swimming trunks for him so he's in there in his underpants. Most of the other boys go in naked but I'm not comfortable with that.


By the wading pool we see the most Japanese of the lot: a group of guys in full 50s get-up, with folded-up and pressed jeans, bowling shirts, leather jackets, and huge bouffant duck tails. They aren't just hanging though, they are getting down! They have a speaker set and all the rockabilly faves are a blaring while these guys dance in a circle. They did the hop, the twist, and the jitterbug stroll. It was so very Japanese. They were trying so hard to be unique, but had to do it in a group with a uniform.

Little Fish loved these guys. At first he was just staring, then he went up (in his underwear, soaking wet) and stared. Eventually, he walked up to the guy with the biggest bouffant and sporting the most Elvis-like lips, held out his hand, and joined the guy in dancing. Oh my boy- what a corker! It was so cute and so funny and so very Japanese. I wish I had a camera to capture the moment.