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TOKYO ALBUM > Tokyo Photo News > Tokyo Photo News backnumbers > Tokyo Photo News 2010 > Tokyo Photo News August 2010
One Hundred Thousand Sunflowers in Bloom!
Attracting a large number of visitors, the Kiyose Himawari Festival?featuring approximately 100,000 fully blooming sunflowers blanketing a spacious 24,000 square meter piece of farmland?was held in the city of Kiyose from August 21 to September 5. Aiming to turn itself into a "City of Green Parks and Flowers," Kiyose is currently undertaking a city-wide flower planting project.
Photo: 100,000 blooming sunflowers (Photo taken on August 20, 2010)
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, an Urban Oasis
Captured in the aerial photo above, the urban oasis of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden provided an alluring escape from this summer's endless heat. The garden was created in 1906 on the site of the former residence of Lord Naito, a feudal lord belonging to the Edo period (1603-1868) Shinshu Takato clan. Originally built as a garden for the Imperial Household, the 58.3 hectare expanse of greenery was turned into a nationally administered public garden after the Second World War. Renowned as a masterpiece of landscaped gardens, the park includes features such as a beautiful French formal garden lined with sycamore trees.
Photo: Aerial view of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (Photo taken on August 4, 2010)
Tokyo Riverside Area - Ochanomizu Neighborhood
Approaching the Hijiri-Bashi Bridge on a boat ride along the Kandagawa River during a visit to Tokyo's waterways, passengers were greeted with a view of intersecting Japan Rail and Marunouchi subway line trains. Differing from the street-level perspective, the view from the water offers an opportunity for new discoveries and inspirations.
Photo: From a boat on the Kandagawa River (Photo taken on August 31, 2010)
A Spirit of "Self-Help and Mutual Assistance" in Times of Disaster
On August 29, just before Disaster Preparedness Day on September 1, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government jointly held a comprehensive disaster management drill with Bunkyo Ward. The drill envisaged a strong earthquake occurring directly under the northern part of Tokyo Bay, and damage spreading in heavily populated Bunkyo Ward with its narrow streets due to a delay in the start of police and firefighter rescue activities. At the University of Tokyo drill site, about 400 local residents participated in rescue and firefighting drills held among realistic models of collapsed houses and buildings, experiencing first hand the true meaning and importance of self-help, mutual assistance and cooperation.
Photo: Residents learning from local firefighters how to use an air jack for rescue operations at the University of Tokyo drill site. (Photo taken on August 29, 2010)
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