Rain, Rain, Go Away

April in Tokyo can get wet, but it can also be warm and dry.

Unfortunately, today it’s the former.

On the upside that means more photo opportunities and a slower pace to enjoy riding.

Make no mistake, though, April is when spring really starts to, well, blossom in the Japanese capital.

Not far from Kangaeroo’s home is the delightful Yakushiike Park.

The park has some delightful archetypically Japanese scenes, with the crooked bridge over a pond, terraced rice paddies and beautifully manicured gardens.

Flowers and new greenery sprout everywhere and days are longer and generally warmer.

Then there’s the wind.

Cherry blossoms in Japan are world-renowned for their beauty, but there are plenty of other delightful flowers to see in this season, too.

It also has a section of wisteria of different colors growing through trellises and looking absolutely delightful. The wisteria hadn’t bloomed yet, but that didn’t stop the rest of the park looking delightful, even in the torrid rain.

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • |

    Rainbow Over Allah And Putting A Tiger In The Tank

    Work slowed down and it was a little easier to enjoy life, which allowed for stopping to smell the roses and capturing such opportunities as a rainbow shining above the Tokyo Mosque and beefing up Bargearse the bike. Mrs. Kangaeroo and I also got to visit an exhibition by the delightful Kyoichi Tsuzuki, who has been chronicalling Japan’s quirky side for decides. He was showing displays from hihokan, the now vanishing but once almost ubiquitous sex museums across Japan. Bargearse, meanwhile, my erstwhile fat bike, got an upgrade with tiger decorations, taking over from a predecessor pedallar that piqued my interesting in pedalling.

  • |

    Hugh Jackmanがシドニーで東京の一角を再現（誤字がおまけ！）

    Oh, no! What a Hugh-ge spelling mistake! 　豪出身ハリウッド俳優ヒュー・ジャックマンが主演となり、真田広之や岡本多緒共演の2013年公開予定映画「ウルヴァリン: SAMURAI」をシドニーで撮影し、同市の一角を10月16日までに映画の舞台である東京に変身した。 　行ったことがなければ、再現したところを人目で見れば日本の都市のどこかと思われるかもしれないが、よ～く見るとビルの２階窓の看板に貼っている字がオーストラリア独特な「She’ll be right, mate（なんとかなる、さ）」気持ちを込めているようだ、、、間違っている！ 　「ヨガ」のはずであるの「ヨ」の向けが逆になっている。 　しょうがないね、、、 Tokyo in Parramatta Video: Parramatta transformed into Tokyo

  • | |

    How Did Japan Change the Way Artist Margaret Preston Saw Australia?

    日本との出会いは、画家マーガレット・プレストンのオーストラリア観をどう変えたのか？ A journey that began with Japanese prints 日本の版画から始まった旅 Margaret Preston (1875–1963) helped change the look of modern Australian art. Her striking prints of native flowers, harbour views and birds drew on an unexpected source: Japan’s centuries-old tradition of ukiyo-e woodblock printing. But this was not simply a case of an Australian artist admiring Japanese pictures from a distance. Preston travelled to Japan herself, returning to study the craft that had fascinated her for years. マーガレット・プレストン（1875～1963年）は、オーストラリア近代美術の表現を大きく変えた芸術家だ。野生の花や港の風景、鳥などを大胆に描いた版画には、意外な源流がある。日本で何世紀にもわたって発展した浮世絵の木版画だ。しかし、彼女の日本との関係は、遠い国の美術に憧れて作品をまねたというだけではない。長年関心を寄せていた版画の技法を学ぶため、実際に日本を訪れている。 Preston first developed her interest in Japanese prints while travelling and studying in Europe. In Paris, she visited the Musée Guimet, now the National Museum of Asian Arts, and studied ukiyo-e. She was drawn…

  • 巨大カモノハシ「ゴジラ・プラッタプス」が豪で発見

    　現代の倍以の大きさだった「ゴジラ・プラッタプス」５百万から１億１５００万年の間前に巨大な歯付カモノハシが豪などに生存した、と豪古生物学者が11月発表した。 　オーストラリアの数多く独特な動物の中では、カモノハシが最も変わっているかもしれない。 　ビーバーの尻尾にモグラの胴体と鴨の鼻・口だけでなく、哺乳類のように母乳を与えながら子供が爬虫類や鳥類など同様に赤ちゃんを卵で産む「単孔目（たんこうもく）」動物である。 　この目は、カモノハシとオーストラリアのハリネズミであるechidnaしかないです。 　今のカモノハシは歯がなく餌等を圧力で殺して食べるが、「ゴジラ・カモノハシ」は、歯があって、小さな動物や虫類などを噛んで食べた、と同学者がいう。 　新しく発見した「ゴジラ・カモノハシ」の本当の名前がObdurodon tharalkooschildだ。身長が約1メートルまで伸ばされ、現代カモノハシの約倍。この大きさの差によって学者たちが「ゴジラ」という名前を冗談で付けた。 Giant toothed platypus roamed Australia

  • |

    Reminiscing: The First Time Australia Mattered in Kangaeroo’s Japan

    Kangaeroo has lived in Japan since the late ’80s, just as the Showa Era (reign of Emperor Hirohito from 1926-1989) drew to a close. Japan back then had possibly an even stronger fascination with English than it does even today, especially as it was far less accessible in a slower, less connected world. But English and overseas meant America and Japan had an obsession for the United States. Occasionally, news would filter through from other powers, such as then recently reunited Germany, France, Italy, Britain and the crumbling Soviet Union and Russia. It was rare, pretty close to unheard of, really, for Australia to attract much attention in a Japan…

  • Spring Has Finally Sprung

    Almost as though on cue, probably the most delightful time of the year in Japan–May, when it’s warm, dry, sunny and with the longest hours of daylight–has been generally bleak and glim by its usual standards in 2022. This year has been subjected a bit to the rule of law: Murphy’s Law, unfortunately. Still, amid a global pandemic when the vast majority of people around the world are feeling the pinch in some way or another, there have also been plenty of blessings. When the sun finally started showing its face with a bit of consistency as May drew to a close, it also enabled Japan’s glorious spring to put…