Hitachinaka Park - Ibaraki ひたちなか公園, 茨城県

A couple of hours north up the Joban Line from Tokyo, in the seemingly perpetually cloudy prefecture of Ibaraki, lies Hitachinaka Seaside Park. It's a large expanse of grass, flowers and friendly dragonflies. It's well laid out, with a wide variety of flora and activities, including a barbecue area. A 20 minute bus ride from Katsuta station, where a totally unexpected Irish Pub (Doyle's) provides a staging post for the long trip back into the city. The Great Outdoors and a cold pint, what more can a hiking gaijin ask for ?   

Shinjuku Gyouen - 新宿御苑

Since the Amagiyama jaunt there admittedly hasn't been much hiking. However, if this blog were to solely contain musings and photographs of this gaijin's hikes then it would remain a threadbare blog indeed. My  most recent efforts have included the 15 minute "hike" from my place to Shinjuku Gyouen, an oasis of calm right in the center of Tokyo. Despite what many people say, you don't really have to travel far to find beauty, even in this, the most teeming of metropoli.