Cube Land at Kodomo-No-Kuni

I need to verify, but on my family's last visit to Kodomo-No-Kuni, the truncated octahedron climbing structure that is a favorite link on my blog (thanks to playscapes) appears to have been replaced by Cube Land.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 35 mm, f5.6, ISO 100, 1/400 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 18 mm, f4.0, ISO 100, 1/125 sec.

Shinkansen Themed Playground at the Railway Museum in Onari, Saitama

In December at the Railway Museum in Onari, Saitama I took this snap of the very kawaii Shinkansen themed playground. There was a large slide in the shape of a E5 series and instead of rocking horses the playground featured rocking shinkansen trains (from L to R E2 Series, E3 Series, E3-1000 Series, 400 Series and a E926 Type (East i))!

Nikon D600 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 19 mm, f8, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

Field Athletic Yokohama Tsukushino Course

Back in January the family took a trip to the Field Athletic Yokohama Tsukushino Course. It's about an hour drive from Minato-ku, Tokyo or you can take the Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line from Shibuya to Tsukushino Station.

The course is very similar to the Field Athletics Course at Heiwa no Mori Koen. There are a total of 50-obstacles with 10-obstacles over water. I couldn't figure out the connection, but it features an play area called the Tom Sawyer Forest.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f5.6, ISO 250, 1/125 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f5.6, ISO 250, 1/100 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f5.6, ISO 250, 1/400 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f5.6, ISO 250, 1/320 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f8.0, ISO 100, 1/125 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 80 mm, f4.0, ISO 100, 1/200 sec.

Modern Art or Playground Equipment?

In the Hinokicho Park located behind Tokyo Midtown are some beautiful sculptural playground equipment. This photo was taken just a few weeks ago, just after peak sakura.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f5.6, ISO 200, 1/125 sec.

Summer is coming to a close, but I keep on thinking of spring...

Although the fall leaves will come to Tokyo as the summer heat fades, I have been thinking about the beautiful canopy of pink blossoms that fill Tokyo in the spring. I stumbled on this photo that I took in late March at Kougai Park (笄公園) near Hiro Station, and thought about the wonderful day my children had playing at this park.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 120 mm, f3.5, ISO 200, 1/800 sec.

Tire Park or Nishi Rokugo Koen

On a cold early weekend December morning, the family joined some friends at Nishi Rokugo Koen in Ota-ku. This park is also know by many as the Tire Park because it is mainly constructed of about 3,000 recycled tires of every variety. The play structures vary from the typical tire swings, to giant concrete slides, a robot, a pair of dinosaurs (or perhaps they are dragons?), a rocket, and other fun constructions.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens@ f5.6, ISO 200, 1/125 sec.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 80 mm, f4, ISO 200, 1/250 sec.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens@ f5.6, ISO 200, 1/1600 sec.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 200 mm, f4, ISO 200, 1/125 sec.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 200 mm, f4, ISO 200, 1/640 sec.

Heiwa no Mori Koen - Obstacle Course

The family went to Heiwa no Mori Koen and tried the "Obstacle Course". According to an article in the Japan Times, this is more commonly known as "Field Athletics".

It's a brilliant playground for our kids who are now in elementary school and a great way to burn off some calories. There's 40-different play structures or obstacles in this course!

The obstacles in the water play area were my children's favorites. It probably took them about 15 to 20-minutes to cross the floating bridge, rope & raft crossing, the paddle & tub and the water wheel, but we stayed in this area for about an hour.