SleddingAroundTheWorld: Kairakuen park and Senba lake in Mito

Plum blossoms at Kairakuen

Shogun house

Kairakuen

One of the meeting rooms on the upper level

Spring is definitely here! There are perfectly gorgeous days sprinkled in amongst days and days of rain. The humidity is high, and the flowers are blooming. We are lucky enough to have a fantastic friend who took us to see the plum blossoms in Mito on a mild day last month (thank you, Fumie Emory!). Along with the plum blossoms, there is also a shogun house that you can walk through for a small fee. The stairs to the upper floors are amazingly steep, narrow, and the treads are shallow. Small wonder that the structure boasted a dumb waiter to move things more efficiently!

It was wonderful to see the interior and the architectural details. The building has a wonderful flow to it. The bottom level is skirted by a walkway, and the interior is divided into rooms with paper walls that are painted in different themes. The upstairs has amazing views, and a separate building on the lower level contained a spacious hall with tall ceilings and more beautiful views.

View from the shogun house

Senba lake

Near Kairakuen park is Senba lake, which is ringed with cherry trees. They weren't in bloom when we visited, but the lake was still an interesting spot. There are boats in the shape of swans and cars that can be rented, and it was fun to watch joggers run their laps around the lake. It's a very popular spot for marathon training.

Our kids definitely enjoyed their time at the lake. Our son discovered an amazing playground hidden at the top of a hill behind the lake. There was a zip line, rope structures, an amazingly long slide, and play structures that were connected to make one long obstacle course. I would wager that we enjoyed the playground more than Disneyland! No waiting, no fee, no crowds, and "yes, you can climb on that," is a wonderful phrase for kids to hear :-) We ended the day feeling very tired, but really happy.