Kurihama Flower Park

Millinophile and Chickadee went to Kurihama Flower Park for their Spring Festival, but it was raining, so the Festival was canceled. On the plus side, the park was basically deserted. 

 So many bicycles. And part of Millinophile's finger.

 A shrine we passed on the way to the park.

 A giant field of poppies. You can come and pick the poppies in October, apparently.

 The other end of the poppy field.

 The poppy field from above. You can also see part of the city of Kurihama in the mist.

 At the top of the park is Adventureland, which boasts this large statue of Godzilla.

 "Endress Summer" Hydrangeas.

 Caterpillar!

 These water fountains are really hard to drink out of.

 The ocean.

 These smelled terrible.

 The greenhouse had all sorts of interesting succulents.

 This is a mutant daisy, with two flower heads on one stem.

 A chrysalis.

Fuzzy caterpillar.

 A beatle.

Some scary stairs we climbed down.

Millinophile and Chickadee Present: Street Signs

Seems pretty self-explanatory.

 

Only well-dressed children may use this crosswalk. 

 Boaters required.

Yokosuka Curry Festival

Yokosuka, the self-proclaimed "Curry Capital" of Japan, hosts a curry festival conveniently located right across from the Navy Base. This year, 10,000 people were expected to attend the 2 day event. Millinophile and Chickadee decided to join the throngs of curry fans and headed toward Mikasa Park

 Walking towards the park.

Japanese battleship Mikasa. If you look closely, you can see a bunch of Japanese sailors on the deck.

Some mascots, possibly of Yokosuka. Or curry. Or something else.
Edit: the blue one is a mascot of Japanese-American friendship.

 

 Millinophile and Chickadee tried two types of curry. Japanese curry is not like Indian or Thai curry, so it's a bit hard to describe what they tasted like. The lighter one was a little bit sweet, with a strong curry powder taste. The darker one was spicier and a bit more gelatinous.

The (wooden) disposable spoons fascinated Millinophile.

One tent had this interesting display of model Japanese ships.

Japanese Harry Potter wants you to drink his "dry" beer.

 Heading home. That's Millinophile's workplace on top of the hill.

Chickadee's Little Friend

 Last night, Chickadee turned on the porch light and startled this little guy!

He came back this morning and sang for her.

Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica.

Strawberry Chocolate

 

Strawberry chocolates from Meiji, the premier chocolate company in Japan.

 

The jelly inside these truffles is SOUR.