The Lions Won’t Eat You…As Long As You Can Outrun The Gazelle

Blessed with more time than I’d expected yesterday afternoon, I got to have some fun with the statues at the closed Yokohama Zoorasia. My Astuto bicycle got some great shots running away from wild animals, including a pack of lions chasing a gazelle.

It reminded me of my schooldays, when I was the slowest runner in the entire school, and a friend joked that it wouldn’t matter if a wild animal chased our group down, as all they would need to do would be to run faster than I could. Painful, but true!

I’d often toyed with a visit to Zoorasia, so was glad to finally make it, and pleased that the park was opened because it allowed me to take some unencumbered shots of the animal statues, topiary and other assorted decorations. It would have been nice to have been able to interact with some furry creatures, though. (But I always feel pained after visiting zoos and wish the poor animals could roam freely.)

Of course, there was also a kangaroo presence.

I’d earlier dropped by a sunflower field in Machida in the hope of taking photos of the flowers, but they had all been ripped out.

I was beginning to think I was a bit cursed having drawn up a plan to visit all sorts of places before eventually arriving at the Yokohama Bird Clinic to check up on Dino, our rosy faced lovebird being treated there.

There were no sunflowers, Zoorasia was closed, and it was another 20 kilometers or so before I could get to the clinic, but with no distractions along the way, I would be stuck there for hours in the stifling heat while I waited for its 4 p.m. opening.

It wasn’t to be the case, though, as I took the opportunity afforded to me to explore the Oguchi district near the hospital. It was like slipping back in time to a different era. The district is a roofed arcade of mom-and-pop stores. It bears a close resemblance to what a lot of Tokyo looked like when I first arrived here almost four decades ago, but is now just a faded memory in most places. It was my taste of Showa nostalgia, the feeling many Japanese have for the dynamic era of their country from 1925 to 1989 during the reign of Emperor Hirohito (posthumously named Showa).

Dino was livelier than she has been in my past two visits, but is making little to no progress. I don’t know what to do. I am an eternal pessimist, so hope that the rotten feeling in my gut remains just that.

Getting home was a little bit of a challenge. I am having increasing trouble seeing and arthritis is playing havoc with my braking and gear changing. The Astuto has shonky Chinese gears and the chain always slips, so it’s not conducive to smooth riding (though it’s my guess this is why the stolen bike was returned after four months). But rain and dark made the journey a little more difficult than I would have liked and I was relieved to get home safely.

Because of the wet, the Astuto got another trip early this morning, and we were rewarded with a glorious sunrise as the clouds and wet gave added atmosphere to the dawn. Delightfully, I got to return home and meet my next-door neighbor’s son-in-law visiting from Britain (and who shares the same surname as me!)