Nihon Odori - The Boulevard of Golden Dreams

It's that time of year again. Tie to check out the Ginkgo nut trees in Yokohama. By now they should be covered in beautiful yellow/gold leaves.

On the walk from Hinodecho train station to Nihon Odori Boulevard I see that everyone is as excited as I am about the Ginkgo nut trees.

One may wonder why I headed to Nihon Odori.

Well, it's because the entire boulevard is lined with Ginkgo nut trees.
A quick check of the dictionary "Boulevard : noun  - a wide street in a town or city, typically one lined with trees."

As I get closer to Nihon Odori I make a short stop at Yokohama Park to see what there is to see there.

Very nice! This park is small but well worth the visit.

Love the red color.

At last, I have arrived at Nihon Odori and what a sight it is to see.

It's cold, the sky is grey and nobody cares that it is basically a sucky day; the trees are beautiful! And, that's all that matters.

It's 12:00 noon and people are going into "Gooz" to buy sandwiches and coffee to enjoy under the trees for lunch.

Everyone is taking pictures.

This is the place to be.

The sidewalks are covered with gold leaves.

For added enjoyment a short walk away from Nihon Odori is Yamashita Koen Odori. The sidewalk's not as wide but it's just as beautiful.

To give one an idea of how cold and grey the day really is look at the sky above the Hikawa maru.

It's hand chilling cold out here.

Everyone is dress appropriately for the weather.

On a day like today happiness is a warm wool sweater.

I'm walking through China Town to get back to Hinodecho.

It's good to be outside and enjoying the day despite the chill in the air.

Back at the train station where I started this short trip to walk the Boulevard of Golden Dreams.

And, here's my train.

Thanks for stopping by!
Mike

Bonus shots!

Where I live in Japan, there is only one subway nearby and it’s not very deep underground. On the occasions when I go to Tokyo (like today) the reality of  how deep underground some of the subways are is a real jolt to the senses. To imagine that when one is walking down the sidewalk in Tokyo the fact that deep underneath the ground at varying levels there are subways criss crossing each other, above and below each other, this is (for me) mind blowing.   

The reality sinks in when you go down multiple leves on an escalator.

Then on a platform that is who knows how many meters underground a subway train comes rumbling out of a dark tube and comes to a stop on an artificialy lighted platform.

We get in and off we go. To me this is like someting out of a Jules Verne novel like “Journey to the Center of the Earth”.

Jingu Gaien Ginkgo tree street - Tokyo