Spring

  • Bloomin’ Marvelous!

    For all sorts of reasons, Kangaeroo hasn’t had much of chance to get out and about and cop a look at the cherry blossoms in bloom in Tokyo in 2022. Nonetheless, that hasn’t meant being completely deprived of a sight that possibly makes the Japanese capital the most beautiful city in the world for a week or so every spring. Various restrictions have limited viewing to the area of the Tama river and its tributaries, but even then it has made for some wonderful sights, as this gallery shows.

  • What a Gift!

    At the risk of sounding like a broken record, May is, in Kangaeroo’s opinion, the nicest time of the year in Japan. Having said that, 2021 has been a little out of the ordinary. Where we are normally blessed with dry, warm, sunny weather at this time of year, but much of the month has been bleak and sodden. Combined with preparation for a move of home, conditions have conspired to curtail Kangaeroo’s much-loved cycling at a time when it was expected to peak. This effect was demoralizing, leading to excess eating, dearth of exercise and a downward spiral of mental and physical deterioration. It doesn’t take much! But it…

  • Beating Jobsworths with Luck

    Waking early gave Kangaeroo a slice of luck this morning, enabling a visit to Yakushiike Park in Machida before the jobsworths arrived there and booted him out for bringing his bike. The park is a delight, unbelievably located in the Tokyo suburbs. It has some spectacular wisteria growing on trellises, with a huge pond (the ike of Yakushiike) surrounded by a picturesque garden currently flourishing with bright new leaves. The wisteria are yet to reach full bloom, so there may be another visit before we’re finished this year.

  • Sensational Sunrises

    There have been some sensational sunrises to greet me in recent days, though each weekend for the past six weeks has seen at least one day rain. This week it was Saturday and Kangaeroo spent the day on the Death Machine, riding only a short distance. Sunday, though, was a different matter, and we headed out on a 200-km under beautiful blue skies, but dogged by gale-force winds that proved energy sapping.

  • Ideal Workday Weather

    Today is bleak. Weather is debilitating. It’s drizzling, bleak, wet and cold. Perfect for work … if you have to work indoors. (Not too good for those who earn a living outside, though) It’s too wet to ride, to do much outside to be honest, but not wet enough to fully rule out any activities under the skies. This kind of weather does my head in. Kangaeroo has also just switched employers, so there is a massive amount of stress and the fear of the unknown. Transition is not moving altogether smoothly, either. One bonus of not being able to ride was getting to take a walk. And Kangaeroo is…

  • Warm Weekend

    This spring has been uneasonably warm. Though only the first weekend in April, the cherry blossom season in Tokyo is over. Normally, it is only just starting. It was a tumultuous week for Kangaeroo, as mentioned in the previous post, but continuing over the weekend. All sorts of stuff happened, punctuated by a couple of really long rides. Fucken knackered!

  • Spring-Heeled

    Spring is such a delight in Japan. One reason for that is the blooming of cherry blossoms. For a week or so, much of the company is given a glorious pink carpet as the national flower blooms, transforming often bleak landscapes into spectacular vistas. Kangaeroo spent the weekend cycling Tokyo’s central districts and suburbs, taking as many photos of the blossoms as possible.