（日本語は後半にあります）
【English】
Lately, it’s been a bit cooler, which is perfect timing since I’ve been feeling motivated to go walking, and the pleasant weather makes it even more enjoyable!
The “Katsushika Iris Festival” started the day before yesterday at Horikiri Iris Garden. Horikiri Iris Garden, located in Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward, is a historic garden renowned for its vibrant display of irises, particularly during the annual Katsushika Iris Festival held in early summer. I visited right away, hoping to take some beautiful photos of the irises, but unfortunately, it was still too early, and hardly any flowers had bloomed. The iris garden before blooming looks, well, kind of like a rice paddy 😅
I made the mistake of just checking the festival schedule and heading out without confirming if the flowers were in bloom on social media or elsewhere. I slightly regret that now. At this rate, the peak bloom might be this weekend or next weekend.
So, I left the iris garden earlier than planned. Fortunately, hydrangeas were starting to bloom beautifully around the garden. Their petals come in various shapes and colors, and they’re quite charming. I used to not care much for hydrangeas (probably because the hydrangea bush in my parents’ garden always had snails on it), but looking at them now, they’re really lovely flowers. If I had a garden, I’d want to plant one.
Near Horikiri Shobuen Station, I came across the “Shobu Shichifukujin” (Seven Lucky Gods of Shobu). These 3-meter-tall statues of the Seven Lucky Gods line the side of the road, and they’re quite impressive. I come to this area from time to time, but I had no idea such an interesting spot existed. Walking around really leads to all sorts of new discoveries.
In the end, including this walk, I clocked about 16,000 steps that day. Even now, as I write this, my legs feel a bit tired. I’ve heard that around 8,000 steps a day is ideal for health, but I wonder if that’s true. For me, walking about 10,000 steps feels great and helps me sleep well, but going way beyond that leaves me exhausted.
For now, I think I’ll set a daily goal of 10,000 steps👣
【Japanese】
このところ、少し涼しい日が続いています。ウォーキングへの意欲が湧いてきているタイミングで、歩きやすい気候が続いているのは嬉しい！
堀切菖蒲園では、一昨日から「葛飾菖蒲まつり」が始まっています。綺麗な菖蒲の写真を撮れればと早速訪れてみたのですが、残念ながらまだ早かったらしく・・・ほとんど開花していませんでした。開花前の菖蒲園はなんというか水田みたいですね😅
菖蒲まつりの日程だけ見て出てきてしまったのですが、SNSなどで開花しているかどうか確認してから行けばよかったなと少し後悔しました。この調子だと、見頃を迎えるのは今週末か来週末でしょうか。
ということで、早々に菖蒲園をあとにしました。幸い菖蒲園の周辺では、紫陽花が綺麗に咲き始めていました。花びらの形も、色も様々で可愛い。昔は紫陽花ってあまり好きではなかったのですが（多分、実家の庭の紫陽花の木にいつもカタツムリがくっついていたせい）改めてみると綺麗な花ですね。庭があれば、植えてみたい木のひとつです。
堀切菖蒲園駅の近くには「しょうぶ七福神」が並んでいました。高さ3メートルほどの七福神が道の脇にズラリと並んでいて、なかなかの迫力です。この辺りには時々来るのに、こんな面白い場所があるなんて知りませんでした。歩いてみると、色々と新しい発見があります。
結局この日は、このウォーキングも合わせて最終的に16,000歩ほど歩きました。これを書いている今も少し足がだるいです。健康には一日8,000歩くらいがちょうどよいと聞いたことがありますが、実際どうなんでしょう。自分の感覚としては10,000歩程度歩くと気分よく眠れて、それを大幅に超えると疲れてしまいます。
しばらくは一日の目標を10,000歩に設定しようかなと思います。
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It is true that I didn't see any lilies, but I can assure you that the hydrangea pictures looked great. And I was surprised by the “Shobu Shichifukujin”. I don't know what they symbolize, but I liked them.
Thank you very much, @go-kyo for sharing this walk.