the bonsai town and a series of not so unfortunate events : August 16 2025

here is the most remarkable picture of the day. but unfortunately this was not taken by my phone although i took it with my own hands. i used @wittyzell's phone for this photo. why? you will know in a few.

breakfast

waking up early, even before my set alarm time, i decided to go out to buy breakfast food. i was just glad to have lots of time to prepare, and a breakfast is the most important meal of the day. for a trip that requires long travel hours, breakfast is necessary. and so i walked to this grocery store to buy some breakfast food, it was around 8:15. the store was still closed; it opens at 9 and that would be too late for me as we depart at 9:30. the first unfortunate event!

returned home, ate breakfast from another store and prepared for the trip. i even asked "alexa" for the weather forecast that day, slight chance of rain it said. i still packed my umbrella just in case. i also packed my fully charged earphones and portable battery.

departure

i left home together with 3 other housemates, headed quickly to the station just in time for the intended train ride. it was then where i found out that i forgot an essential thing, my celphone. it was as if heaven crumbled before me. a trip for away without any celphone, that was quite unheard of in recent years. i could have returned home to get the phone, but i hated hurrying and getting all sweaty. that would also mean that i would be late and people will be waiting for me, that i equally hate. i guess now i just have to hold firm to the belief that everything will be alright. a day without a celphone. back to basics, back to the old days, back to how i used to be; this will be interesting for sure.

toro station (土呂駅)

we arrived at the agreed station minutes before @wittyzell and @revlat35 came. i immediately told them of the predicament, my housemate immediately mentioned that i better stick with them or i will get lost and be helpless, this i did not plan through well. i also then thought of the possibility of people messaging me, or of any emergency; i just had to have a firm belief that nothing bad would happen. and then we went out the station, and they immediately searched for the stamp. oh my! i can't collect this stamp either, sadly. here is the physical stamp instead.

Omiya Bonsai Art Museum (大宮盆栽美術館)

yes we came here for the bonsai, and a fitting way to start the trip is at the bonsai museum. it was there where i learned that the bonsai gardeners of omiya were originally from the bunkyo ward or the edo period who tended the gardens of the then feudal lords. it was after the great kanto earthquake of 1923 when rapid development came and the gardeners sought for land suitable for growing bonsai, they then transferred to omiya (just outside of tokyo) and established a bonsai community. a household should have at least 10 displayed bonsai, without any 2nd floor house, and a live hedge as perimeter: these were among the rules to be recognized as a bonsai garden. originally there were 30, now only 6 remain.

the museum showed that the proper way to appreciate a bonsai is to look at the root, the rock decors (suiseki) if any, the main trunk whether straight or curvaciously upright, the branches where some parts show wood coloration or even death, until the leaves which can change with the season at times. some types even appear windswept and even cascades downward, yet others appear in multiple shoots appearing like a little forest. proper care (repotting, pruning and wiring) were also shown.

the museum even showed how the bonsai is usually displayed at home, this museum was just so informative. the one stop shop for enthusiasts indeed. in one room, they asked you to vote for your favorite bonsai based on pictures. we had no clue that some of those pictured were also displayed in the main garden display. below was my favorite.

this was a japanese white pine estimated to be 350 years old. yes, these are very old bonsais. i remembered that they also had a thousand year old on display, very impressive bonsai.

i chose this bonsai as my favorite because of the shape, with a little more imagination, it looked like a dragon flying upward to the sky. but i guess it was not as popular as the others also because of the shape. the white parts without any bark are the dead parts of the tree, and that added more drama. but it was not your typical bonsai, though i loved it because of that.

i was just glad that @wittyzell allowed me to use her phone to take these pictures.

the other gardens

i went out of the museum happy. i even wanted to buy a bonsai, the museum had nothing on sale. we had some snacks in a nearby shop, bonsai themed food.

we then headed to some bonsai garden, entered one and started appreciating the plants. they also had a thousand year old bonsai, they originally got the plant from the mountains and replanted on a pot there. it really looked majestic. i saw some small items on sale at 7000 yen (around 50 usd), i was willing to buy some if it were a bit cheaper. but a slight push was all i needed to buy that beauty, although i still have no clue how to take care of it.

and then it rained. umbrellas were not allowed inside the garden as it might hit the bonsai plants here and there. we had to go out. minutes passed and the rain only got heavier, no signs of stopping. this must be a continuation of my bad luck that day.

the rest of the day

we headed to a restaurant for lunch, it too was crowded. finally ate after minutes of waiting. while waiting for the food to be served though, the usual people-on-their-phone scenario happened. i just looked at them.

we went to omiya park and witnessed some archery, ducks playing on the pond, people in yukatas in the shrine all of these i took in with my senses and nothing else.

we had an hour of darts. of the three rounds we had, i won in one of the mini games. i could not even record that to my account. but i celebrated the small win.

finally had dinner at some steak place, no food pic this time. but i smelled that food and tasted every bit of it.

got ready to go home and here we are again with two more station stamps. i was happy to find the "tags" but can't record those too. one had a physical stamp and the ink was all dried up. this was in omiya station in case you can't see the invisible ink below.

but you know who took great pictures? @revlat35 did! you can see everything i witnessed and even more in this entry below.

conclusion

so how did i fare? sorry but i just needed to be dramatic in my words above, but in all honesty the day went fine. i might have no photo to share but i took everything in like how i was back in the day. i had to bring up my phone predicament from time to time to break the ice, it was my comic relief. but i still enjoyed the day nevertheless if not all the more. it was a day break from all social media. the day may have looked like a series of unfortunate events, but i survived it all with a smile.

as always, AMPING KANUNAY!

_{all content is by yours truly unless otherwise specified}

^{all photos are taken with a galaxy s23 ultra}


This report was published via Actifit app (Android | iOS). Check out the original version here on actifit.io

16/08/2025

20108

Photowalking, Walking

Height 168.0 cm		Weight 71.7 kg		Body Fat %
Waist cm		Thighs cm		Chest cm