Kawaguchi by satellite

The image above was taken by satellite and is of our little bit of Tokyo and Saitama. I got it from Space Imaging which is a cool website that I think I first saw on Bondibooks and have been trying to work out how to use it ever since. So anyway, the big, dark rivery looking thing through the middle of the shot is, as you can probably guess, the Arakawa. To find our little bit of it, first click on the image and then click again on the magnifier doohickey to get the most zoomed in one. Then look to the far right and you can see a smaller 'y' shaped river coming off the main river and going (or actually coming from the) north - north conveniently being up on this image. You can see the slightly lighter grey of the grass river bank moving right before curving down, we are just st the beginning of the curve looking south over the river and into Tokyo, so if you are passing, give us a wave.

Other points of interest on this image are (ok, I think they are interesting): towards the centre of the image, just above the river, is a dark oblong, this is the National Rowing Centre at Toda where they had the rowing events for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Goodness knows how long the course is, probably 4kms or something, and there is also a speedboat racing centre attached as well, which I suspect brings in the cash so they can keep the place open as it appears to be universities that use the rowing course more than anyone and I guess they don't have too much money.

Further to the left you can see what looks like a lake, mainly beacuse it is a lake, part of Toda Doman Green Park, which I would love to find a link to so you can see it, but can't seem to find one. Anyway this is usually the area I go cycling around at the weekend for a bit of exercise, if I can't be bothered to go for a run. I went there yesterday and took some photos, but because the weather was so grey and overcast they didn't come out too well. Still, I will take some more when it brightens up after the rainy season. Suffice it to say this is a most pleasant pak area where there aren't any cars so kids can play, there is windsurfing and boating on the lake, footy and baseball pitches and a great big adventure playground for the young 'uns. I haven't seen it in the height of summer but can guess it will be pretty packed, but who cares, Marcus will be taken there in the not too distant future.

On the far side, next to the river and away from the main people-y bits, it has been really quiet every time I have been there, a real get away from it all area right next to Tokyo - fab, I reckon. Also there is a golf course which I don't dislike as much as ythe others as it has been built in two halves along side the river, so players have to get a boat across the river half way through their round I (so a golfing ex-colleague told me), which seems better, for some reason. Again I have grey and overcast photos which I will not share just at the moment

And that's about it. Apologies if there have been/are some weird spacings around these days, don't know what I've done and so don't know how to stop it, though trust me I have been through the template trying. Oh well. Pity about the Lions as well, as I have said before, this time last year perhaps, it comes to a pretty pass when I have to rely on the England cricket team for some sporting success...