spring breezes and autumn frosts : April 16 2025

i finally went out again for some nightwalks. i just needed some fresher air to breathe in. my room has become stuffy and it has long been overdue.

i got the above picture in ueno park, it is just fun to see how people relax outside. and parks do help in some of those cases. and this park had a body of water in it, that helps all the more. watching those ripples on the water gives a soothing effect for sure. to me at least.

i actually decided to go out for a nightwalk also because i wanted to try out the newly replaced insoles of this shoes. those new insoles were pretty thick at the beginning that it felt like my shoes would fall off every time i walk. the shoes would not stick at the back of my foot. so i really thought i had to properly walk in them for quite some time for them to actually feel a bit more comfortable.

there was not much planning made for this walk, i just wanted to try the shoes and breathe some air. so the normal route was where my feet led me. there was not much thinking as if my feet went on auto pilot. this tree actually had some flowers on it, it was not quite visible in this picture.

i then went down some paths and passed through shopping streets. do you still know the names of these places? the first one literally meant "the hill to view mt fuji". this second picture was a shopping street close to home, a two word name that goes y_____ g____.

back on the main street, just taking pictures of random stuff. i was taking a picture of this coffee shop when this colorful bus passed by. that was just interesting, those colors just popped out very well. very interesting really. unfortunately i am not familiar with this character.

walking further, this flowering tree caught my eye, another flowering tree. but then just at a distance, police patrol cars were gathered and police were holding 2 people in custody. not really sure why, but it is not really a custom to ask questions to police officers when they are not investigating you. in other countries, gossipers would surely surround the scene by this point but it is just not the case in japan.

i finally arrived at ueno park. just look at that sakura tree, all leaves now. all the petals have fallen off for sure, we are back to normal greens. this lamp light scene looked great as well.

inside, the baseball field was occupied. a team was playing a game or they were just practicing for a match. some people were also around the field watching the game. a bit further, the wide park had a skate board player doing some tricks. i tried taking a picture of him during a jump, i was too slow though.

finally, i came by this phrase posted outside a temple or a shrine.
春風を以て人に接し (shunpuu wo motte hito ni sesshi)
秋霜を以て自らつつしむ (shuusou wo motte mizukara tsutsushimu)

that was a quote from sato issai, a confucian scholar. now, what could it mean? i actually searched what it meant, my japanese was not up to this level.

that it actually meant was, treat others with the a warm and gentle attitude like a spring breeze, and look at yourself with the harshness of the autumn frost. i guess it tells people to be more critical of ones self, and that will encourage you to be warmer and gentler on how you deal with others because you have already internalized things.

anyways, that was a great nightwalk.
as always, AMPING KANUNAY!