This top page is to transmit the proof that I am still alive and enjoying retired life, mainly to my relatives, friends and former students. A story or an event is selected from daily life and my thoughts and experience are introduced.
From Daily Life - 69: Kitami Community Square Walks have become almost a daily routine. Occasionally, I drive to places
like Jindai Botanical Garden or Kinuta Park and take a stroll through the
large gardens. However, the basics are walks around the area. My home in
Seijo is sandwiched between two rivers, Nokawa and Sengawa. The promenade
along the rivers has become a standard walking route.
The Nogawa originates from Kokubunji, flows down for about 20 kilometers along the Kokubunji cliff line, and joins the Tama River at Futakotamagawa. There are many cherry trees along the riverbank. Five years ago, I introduced a travelogue entitled “Welcomed by cherry blossom” when I walked upstream during the cherry blossom season.
When I don't have a particular desire, my feet naturally head towards
the Nogawa. After walking about 600 meters, I reach the riverbank. My routine
is to walk along the riverside promenade for a while and take a break at
Kitami Community Square. There, I look at the seasonal trees and flowers,
observe children playing on the lawn, and then head back home. It's an
hour-and-a-half-long walk with about 6,000 steps.
This time, let's introduce the Kitami Community Square. The area is outlined with a white line in the photo above and is maintained by Setagaya Ward. The square borders the right bank of the Nogawa and stretches approximately 300 meters in length and 100 meters in width. With trees growing thickly and play fields scattered throughout, it is more apt to be called a park. This square, which looks natural at first glance, is actually a man-made piece of land created on the roof of the Odakyu Railway depot. The railroad tracks visible at the right end of the square convey its true identity.
Now, 30 years after its opening, the sides of the 10-meter-high depot
building are almost shielded by trees. People would easily believe that
the square was on a natural hill. The thickness of the mound on the roof
is 1.2 m, and there are small hills here and there. The transplanted young
zelkova and cherry have grown into giant trees with roots spreading in
the thin soil layer. Looking at the photo above, the trees in the square
look completely comparable to the natural trees that line the river. Trees
have amazing adaptability and vitality.
Flowering trees change with the seasons, from cherry blossoms in spring
to camellias in winter, and the garden's flower beds are filled always
with colorful flowers. Ever since I started composing Haiku, I have tried
to come up with a new Haiku whenever I am struck by beautiful scenery.
I’m sorry, however, to end up with a similar mediocre Haiku. Few people
visit on weekdays, but in the afternoon there are quite a lot of parents
and small children enjoying playtime. Observing children running around
is also soothing.
The community square is well maintained. I spend some time there and then
start returning. It is a place that I am grateful for because it gives
me a sense of vitality and peace throughout the four seasons..
→ Past Top Pages
"From Daily Life"
1: Tracing family roots
2: The second last car
3: August 15. my memorial day
4: Battlefield rations
5: Begginer at the gym
6: Fuji View Hotel
7: Lesson in Hiragana writing by brush
8: Moving from old to new smartphone
9: Living alone in my second year
10: Welcomed by cherry blossom
11: Eden of peach blossom
12: Tama River Walk
13: Chichibu Pilgrimage
14: Bonds with local community
15: About my homepage
16: Annual report of athletic gym
17: Pilgrimage to Mt. Tsukuba
18: Reunion of alumni and classmates
19: Braking by left foot
20: Battlefield rations in the sequel
21: Granddaughter has come!
22: Visit to Kobayashi Residence
23: Wake-up exercise
24: Digital photo album
25: Seven tools for brushing teeth
26: Ambulance
27: Quick report on drive monitoring
28: Hearing aid
29: Jindai Botanical Park
30: 2020, a historic year
31: Topics of eye
32: Final report on drive monitoring
33: Cognitive ability test
34: PCI to prevent heart infarction
35: Ashikaga Flower Park
36: 90 years old supported by medication
37: 3 years with Subaru
38: 45 years living in Seijo
39: Caspian Sea yogurt
40: Home Museum of Aunt Zschäbitz
41: Reunion of university classmates
42: Okutama spar tour
43: New Year's greeting card
44: Implant
45: Fuchu Forest Park
46: Grave closing
47: Walking group of local community
48: How-to books for the elderly
49: Home altar
50: Such a life
51: Knee of the elderly
52: Metropolitan Kinuta Park
53: Shirakaba Art Museum of Kiyoharu
54: Haiku; Metasequoia
55: Three years with COVID-19
56: Battlefield rations in the 6th year
57: Hearing impairment
58: Shinjuku Station
59: Haiku with photograph
60: Moving to 5G smartphone
61: History of private cars
62: Setagaya Art Museum
63: FreeCell
64: Turbo
65: Hinata Temple of Yakushi
66: Moving of home computer
67: Amakusa tour
68: Hand craft as a hobby
"Memorable Scenes"
Series 1: Parade with Doctor hat on the head
Series 2: Calligraphy in a frame
Series 3: A young man from the Orient
Series 4: Sumo-stamping
Series 5: Waiting room of Shanghai Station
Series 6: Let's Walk Festival
Series 7: Last long-distance drive
Series 8: My Car No. 3
Series 9: Ski camp
Series 10: Safari experience
Series 11: First encounter with dogwood
Series 12: Mt. Fuji
"Treasure Box of Words"
Series 1: Virtue brings profit
Series 2: Wait for a ripe moment
Series 3: Catch the symptoms
Series 4: Words are selected metaphors
Series 5: Start with two humans
Series 6: Optimism is a will, pessimism a mood
Series 7: Atop a summit, and another becomes visible
Series 8: We see only what we want to see
Series 9: Chanllenge is the privilage of the young
Series 10: Today is the first day of my life
Engineer Series 1: Who's engineer, juveniles' answer
Series 2: Corus of "We raise engineers!"
Series 3: From Nobel Prize to Gold Medal
Series 4: Professionals in three categories
Series 5: Various tasks in engineering
Series 6: Classification of EPs by IEA
Series 7: Science, technology and related professionals
Series 8: Proposal for the classification of engineers
Series 9: Revised proposal for the classification of engineers
Series 1 - 10: Whole Series including summary and remarks
Cartoon Series 1: Mechanism of viscosity
Series 2: Mechanism of loss generation
Series 3: Commuter packer and enthalpy
Series 4: Skinny grasshopper and fat pupa
Series 5: From hand-drawn picture to ready-made clip art
Series 6: Why do you learn? - 1
Series 7: Why do you learn? - 2
Series 8: Two Sciences
Series 9: Scientist and Engineer
Series 10: Science and Non-science
Series 11: Structure of human relations
Series 12: Oriental subconsciousness
Nostalgia Series 1: The first own car
Series 2: The first driver's license
Series 3: Comparison of German and Japanese Diploma
Series 4: The first air travel
Series 5: Tachometer used 60 years ago
Series 6: The three sacred calculators
Series 7: The first home computer
Series 8: Sentimental journey to Nordkapp
Series 9: Change of photograph
Series 10: Story of passport
The others
Membership of Academic/Professional Societies
Curriculum Vitae
Recent Publications
The center of gravity of recent publications has been shifting from those with the topics in fluids engineering to those in engineering education. Please refer to Publications List of the recent papers written in English.