Walks and Trips with Sachiki-san: December 2022

Enjoyed a Winter Night at Morioka Illumination Bright 12.29.2022

Morioka's new event "Morioka Illumination Bright", which is held for the first time this winter, has started on December 16th. Sachiki-san and I went to the main venue, the square in front of Morioka History and Culture Museum.

According to the executive committee, the venue is inside Morioka Castle Site Park, so it's OK to walk with your dog, but when it's crowded, please be considerate, such as carrying your dog in your arms. Sachiki-san is now 20kg. I can carry him in my arms for short distances.

The venue has a tunnel of light that people can walk through and domes of light that people can enter inside, which make me excited.

The event is to be held until February 18, 2023. Illuminations are also lit up at each shopping street in the city. So, I think I'll go around those shopping streets with Sachiki-san.

Morioka Illumination Bright 2022-2023

https://www.moriokaillumi.com/

Walked a Full Circle around Takamatsunoike Pond 12.27.2022

A month and a half ago, when I took Sachiki-san here to show swans, he walked near the parking lot only. However, today he walked a full circle of the promenade around the pond. The circumference of the pond is about 1.4km.

Sachiki-san became 6 months old about a week ago. Recently, Sachiki-san's walks have been getting longer and longer, and I feel like he has grown.

When we came last time, there were still few swans and waterfowl. Moreover, Sachiki-san was more interested in people walking than birds, so he didn't see swans, but this time there were many swans and waterfowl. Sachiki-san listened to the bird's voice nearby, and he seemed looking at them with a feeling of "What are they?"

I have never saw swans so close. When they stood on the ice and I saw their whole bodies, I was amazed at their size.

Takamatsu Park
https://www.city.morioka.iwate.jp/kurashi/midori/koen/1010492.html

Took a Walk in the Snow-covered Morioka Central Park 12.17.2022

When Sachiki-san saw snow for the first time in his life, he played with it and didn't take a walk well. However, he has experienced walking on snowy roads several times, so now he walks without playing the snow so much.

When the roads around my house are covered with snow, it becomes difficult to walk and time for a walk becomes shorter, so Sachiki-san and I took a two-hour walk in Morioka Central Park.

Morioka Central Park was a snowy world. The snow that fell the day before yesterday was still there.

The way Sachiki-san runs is somewhat like a rabbit.

He greeted the dogs he met on the way.

Children visit the artificial hill, which can be said to be the symbol of the park, covered with snow to play sledding.

Sachiki-san also climbed the hill.

Walking, running, greeting, I wondered if Sachiki-san was tired. He fell asleep as soon as I put him in the cage on the way home.

Morioka Central Park
https://www.city.morioka.iwate.jp/shisetsu/sports/koen/1006914.html

There were Squirrels at the Iwate Prefectural Sports Park 12.10,2022

Iwate Prefectural Sports Park is located about 6 km northwest of the center of Morioka city. On the site of 24.4 hectares, there is an athletics stadium that accommodates 30,000 people, a soccer/rugby field with two grounds, tennis courts, a sport climbing field, and a baseball field.

A wide road passes through, but cars cannot enter. The sidewalks are also wide, so many people walk their dogs.

There are big trees in the park and squirrels are often seen. On the day I walked with Sachiki-san, I saw total of 5 squirrels crossing the road or climbing trees.

There are two squirrels in the photo below.

Sachiki-san likes people, so he did not see squirrels, but running people.

The Iwate Prefectural Sports Park
https://iwate-sposhin.jp/undou/

The Stone Walls of Morioka Castle Site were Magnificent 12.3.2022

Morioka Castle Site Park is located in the center of Morioka city. This is a nationally designated historic site and has been selected as one of Japan's Top 100 Castles and Japan's Top 100 Historical Parks. This is also a park where many people take their dogs for a walk.

There is a waterside in the park, and it is a park where you can feel the change of seasons such as cherry blossoms and autumn leaves, but as this is a castle site, it has magnificent stone walls. In winter, the leaves from have fallen from the trees and the visibility has improved, making it possible to see the stone walls well. Winter is recommended for viewing the stone walls.

In fact, the name Morioka Castle Site Park is a nickname given in 2006 to commemorate the park's 100th anniversary. Its official name is Iwate Park. For me born in 1961, the name Iwate Park is still familiar.

The Nakatsu River runs alongside the park, and the road along the river is named "Victoria Road" after its sister city, Victoria, Canada. This road is also a road I want to take a walk with Sachiki-san someday.