Playing soccer with my sons in the local park, I tripped as I was dribbling the ball and face-planted into the ground. It wouldn’t have been half as painful if the goddamn pitch we were playing on wasn’t gravel.
Japanese friends and family, the above is what a park looks like in the U.S. Please note how the grass is cut regularly, perhaps as many as two times a week, and watered, yes watered, regularly so that it stays green even in the dry season. Lush, green grass, imagine that!
Diamond Head State Park, Honolulu
Inside the Diamond Head State Monument. Again, the grass is cut and watered. Looks nice doesn't it? Kind of makes you want to roll about on it, or spin aound like my wife is doing in the photo, or just lie down it and look up at the sky.
But this is Hawaii, you might say. The climate there is just perfect for parks.
Okay. The next picture is from San Francisco:
Maritime Garden, San Francisco
Cute kid, if I don't mind saying so myself.
Admittedly not the best photo, but it proves that even in the middle of winter, San Francisco, which tends to be rather chilly and overcast most of the time, also has nice green grass in its public parks. This picture was taken near Ghiradelli Square where you'll find quite a lot of tourists and homeless people (many of whom have apparently gone off their Perphenazine--the homeless, mind you, not the tourists).
Also note the trashcan. Not only is the design pleasing to the eye, it is not overflowing with garbage. Why's that, you ask. Because they are emptied regularly. Novel idea, isn't it? See you don't have to wait until they are filled to overcapcity like commuter trains in Tōkyō.
The following photo is from Portland, Oregon:
Park Blocks, Portland
Again, this photo was taken in the dead of winter when the sun rarely shines, and yet the grass is still nice and green. A bit bald in spots, but that can'be helped. All the rain tends to make the ground soggy and prone to damage by pedestrians. Leaves are picked up at regular intervals, too. See, you don't have to drastically cut the limbs of the trees in autumn. Let the leaves fall as Mother Nature intended and then rake them up later. Revolutionary!
And this is what one of the better parks in Fukuoka looks like:
Maizuru Park, Fukuoka
Yikes!
I hiked all the way to the park with the intention of playing catch with my son, but . . . For crying out loud, when was the grass last cut?
I wasn't so much worried about losing the ball among the weed as I was about losing my sons.
You know, when you don't maintain the parks, it's no wonder so few people visit them. Then again, that may be the idea behind the lack of maintenance. The fewer the visitors, the less work the parks administration has to do cleaning up after all those people. There's less litter to pick up, fewer garbage cans that need emptying . . . Hmm. Maybe they know what they're doing after all.
To be fair, . . .
Shinjuku Gyōen, Tōkyō
. . . there are some nice parks in Japan. These photos were taken at Tōkyō's Shinjuku Gyoen, which is located betwen Yoyogi and Shinjuku stations.
It's a great park. Unfortunately, admission is not free.
What I'm getting at is this: if fat, lazy, and stupid Americans can maintain parks, then surely the Japanese can do it, to. Give it a try!