" - Winnie the Pooh
Glover Garden
Chrys booked a night for us at the ANA hotel in Glover Hill for our anniversary. It was just he, Roo and I for the night. It was beautiful.
We got there mid-day on Saturday and went straight to Glover Gardens. Roo was fascinated early on by the moving sidewalks and escalators used to make access to the gardens a bit better. It sits on some pretty steep hills and would be quite a walk.
One of our first stops was a huge koi pond. I spotted a bin with food bags that you could buy so we did. It was a ton of food, especially when someone feeds it one chunk at a time. It kept her there watching various fish for quite a while. The koi looked very healthy and there were a couple that had to have been more than 24" long. Those were just beautiful. A few solid colors, but mostly the easier to find orange and white mottled.
From the top of the hills near the koi ponds, you could see the Nagasaki skyline. It was breathtaking. There were a few flowers in bloom, a few ready to pop open very soon and a few that were on the way to their winter dormant states. I'm sure the gardens are beautiful in the spring, but I didn't think on that too long and just enjoyed them as we saw them.
The homes were all very European in design, but stood out with their Japanese tiled rooves. It made for an interesting mix of designs that was quite stunning. The interiors were entirely European, though - carpeted floors, ornate wooden chairs, full dining suites and beds (not futons).
There was much use of water - water falls, ponds, water sculptures, fountains. They were each unique and had some symbolism hidden in them. One had hidden signs of Christianity - put in during the times of persecution. One was a tribute to Puccini for his opera - Madame Butterfly - that was set in Nagasaki's Glover Gardens.
Glover started many companies that still thrive (under different names) in Japan today. Many of his industries were acquired by Mitsubishi. His brewing company still exists today, as Kirin. He was quite the icon in Nagasaki - very successful, very wealthy, very generous.
Once through the gardens, we walked through a display of floats from the Kunchi festival that had just been held in Nagasaki. It's held in one of the shrines in the center of town. The boats are huge and have at least a dozen men manning them. (Roo and I watched a bit of it on television since we didn't have tickets to get close enough to view them at the shrine.) They have to walk them up (and eventually down) the stairs to the shrine and then dance them around in the center for the judges. The boats are loaded with musicians or dancers. It was amazing to watch and see the exertion on their faces as they rolled this boat back and forth, around in circles - very quickly. There are other floats (for lack of a better word) that are carried by a single man that we also got to see on display.
We got there mid-day on Saturday and went straight to Glover Gardens. Roo was fascinated early on by the moving sidewalks and escalators used to make access to the gardens a bit better. It sits on some pretty steep hills and would be quite a walk.
One of our first stops was a huge koi pond. I spotted a bin with food bags that you could buy so we did. It was a ton of food, especially when someone feeds it one chunk at a time. It kept her there watching various fish for quite a while. The koi looked very healthy and there were a couple that had to have been more than 24" long. Those were just beautiful. A few solid colors, but mostly the easier to find orange and white mottled.
From the top of the hills near the koi ponds, you could see the Nagasaki skyline. It was breathtaking. There were a few flowers in bloom, a few ready to pop open very soon and a few that were on the way to their winter dormant states. I'm sure the gardens are beautiful in the spring, but I didn't think on that too long and just enjoyed them as we saw them.
The homes were all very European in design, but stood out with their Japanese tiled rooves. It made for an interesting mix of designs that was quite stunning. The interiors were entirely European, though - carpeted floors, ornate wooden chairs, full dining suites and beds (not futons).
There was much use of water - water falls, ponds, water sculptures, fountains. They were each unique and had some symbolism hidden in them. One had hidden signs of Christianity - put in during the times of persecution. One was a tribute to Puccini for his opera - Madame Butterfly - that was set in Nagasaki's Glover Gardens.
Glover started many companies that still thrive (under different names) in Japan today. Many of his industries were acquired by Mitsubishi. His brewing company still exists today, as Kirin. He was quite the icon in Nagasaki - very successful, very wealthy, very generous.
Once through the gardens, we walked through a display of floats from the Kunchi festival that had just been held in Nagasaki. It's held in one of the shrines in the center of town. The boats are huge and have at least a dozen men manning them. (Roo and I watched a bit of it on television since we didn't have tickets to get close enough to view them at the shrine.) They have to walk them up (and eventually down) the stairs to the shrine and then dance them around in the center for the judges. The boats are loaded with musicians or dancers. It was amazing to watch and see the exertion on their faces as they rolled this boat back and forth, around in circles - very quickly. There are other floats (for lack of a better word) that are carried by a single man that we also got to see on display.
posted by Wynnie | 00:52
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