Goryokaku Koen

Today I went with my host family to Goryokaku Park, which contains the Goryokaku Fortress, the first Western-style fortress in Japan. From above, the structure looks like a star. There’s a moat around the outside and within the moat are high stone walls.

random google image

Now the park is planted with many flowers, and is a huge attraction in Hakodate, especially during the beginning of June because many of the flowers are in bloom. It is also very popular in May, when the sakura (cherry blossoms) bloom.

Okaasan made bentoo (packed lunch) and we ate there. (Might I mention that I am being extremely well fed over here?) She brought budoo (grapes) as well, which were nearly the size of golf balls! (On a side note, in the supermarket yesterday, I noticed many of their fruits and vegetables are supersized. For example, carrots the size of cucumbers!) (Oh, we also had milk tea/afternoon tea, which was delicious). (Weee, parenthetical asides!)

I also took lots of pictures because the place was so gorgeous. And, the moment you’ve been waiting for… [drum roll] … pictures of my host family!

Otoosan [host father] and me

Obaachan [host grandmother], Okaasan [host mother], and me

Okaasan and me

I picked up some post cards from the gift shop after.

Goryokaku's moat when the cherry trees are in bloom

Aerial view of Goryokaku

Hakodate City, viewed from Mt. Hakodate at dusk

To make this blog a little more interesting, I’m hosting a mini-contest with the above postcards as the prizes! :)

Here’s how it works. I’m going to give you, the readers at home, and sentence in Japanese to translate. You can use online dictionaries, online translators, friends, strangers under duress or bribed, etc. to get the answer. Only person you can’t get the answer from is me. :)

E-mail your answer to me at vfalconi@smith.edu, and the first 3 to answer correctly get postcards. (Don’t comment on the blog, everyone will be able to see the answer!) First person gets first pick, second person gets second pick, third person gets the last card. Edit: All the postcards are claimed! Contest over! :)

So, here’s the challenge:

日本で　春に　桜　が　咲きます。

にほんで　はるに　さくら　が　さきます。

Nihon de haru ni sakura ga sakimasu.

(Those all say the same thing—the first is in kanji and hiragana, the second in hiragana only, and the last is spelled out in roomaji.)

Good luck!

P.S. More pictures from Goryokaku Park: