Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

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    Campbelltown Forest of Wild Birds A Slice of Oz in Sleepy Saitama

    Koshigaya, located some 30 kilometers from downtown Tokyo, and Campbelltown, which is situated about 50 kilometers from Sydney’s central business district, were almost made for each other, even if only serving as satellite cities for their respective countries’ largest cities. Koshigaya and Campbelltown are sister cities and it’s hard to see a better example of the custom than the relationship between the Japanese bed town and its Aussie sibling. Koshigaya is also home to a picturesque corner of Australia, complete with wallabies, emus and some lovely wild birds, including rainbow lorikeets, superb parrots, Major Mitchell’s cockatoos, tawny frogmouths and kookaburras. The Campbelltown Forest of Wild Birds in Koshigaya could arguably…

  • Dwarf Wattle Gets, Well, Smaller…

    Gale-force winds typical of spring in Tokyo wreaked a bit of havoc in Kangaeroo Corner as a rack of hardenbergia was blown onto the dwarf wattle and snapped the miracle tree’s trunk in half. I was crestfallen to see the damage done to the tiny version of wattle that we’re growing in a pot. But that plant is made of stern stuff, indeed. It was one of many grown from seed, but the only one of a dozen or so that survived, and even then it was by accident. Not only has it held on, though, but thoroughly thrived, growing strongly and even presenting us with blossoms earlier in the…

  • Dead!?! (Not Yet, it Turns Out!)

    My hospital killed me, I learned today. It was part of a mix-up caused by our dinosaur (actually, it was my fault as I let her chew up my appointment reservation slip without noting any information that it contained, and then taking too long to follow up on it). Normally, every three months I go for a routine check-up to the hospital, where I have been receiving treatment for the past 15 years. I’d last visited in March, so knew I was due to go back again, and rang through during the week to book an appointment for this morning. I sensed something was amiss as I was told I…

  • Fujisan Farewell Lights Up The Year’s End

    Fortune gave me a delightful end to 2025 with an unexpected night flight to Enoshima to see the Jewel of Shonan illumination event. We still made it home in time to farewell the year with the traditional Red and White Year-end Song Festival…at least partway, as I couldn’t be bothered and went to bed. Having been incapacitated for months due to a broken leg, I wasn’t expecting to head out, especially I only stopped using crutches on Dec. 26, gave short shrift to a cane the following day and then limped around under my own steam thereafter. But Mrs. Kangaeroo, who delights in the usually spectacular winter illumination events around…

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    No Wonder the Wallabies Were Wallies in RWC2019

    Australia’s rugby team, the Wallabies, were ignominiously dumped from the 2019 Rugby World Cup that Japan is currently hosting (and being lauded for both its organization skills and the rousing performance of its unfancied team). The Wallabies lost badly to England in a quarter final, mostly because they were not good enough as a team. But Kangaeroo.com has also discovered another reason for the Wallabies’ woes. Gorgeous Jindaiji Temple, which supported the Wallabies’ woeful World Cup, is situated in the Tokyo suburb of Chofu, location of the Aussies’ group stage loss against Wales on September 29 that effectively derailed their campaign on the field. Jindaiji had proudly displayed Wallabies jerseys…

  • Beautiful Bloomers And A Bevy Of Budding Beauties

    I’m amazed at how much joy our garden brings me when I get to see it upon waking every morning. That is especially so at this time of the year as the flowering plants take their turns to flourish and add some brilliant blooms to the verdant surroundings. Our grevilleas are the big stars at the moment, with their delightful, spider-like flowers. Other trees are not too far away from showing their more flamboyant side, either. The callistemon, lemon myrtle and, if we’re really lucky, one of the banksia also appear poised to bloom. And the bush rosemary still looks glorious after flowering for weeks.