My first summer visit to Japan occurred this year. Now, summer months in Tokyo are very hot, particularly when walking out in the sun. During my trip, I certainly felt the heat but even with a parasol, I found that the shade from trees provided even better protection as well as some fond memories.
A nice place to escape the heat when I visited Enoshima was the Botanical Gardens there. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would much rather spend a whole day there rather than be exposed to the summer sun. One place filled with many large trees providing wonderful green shelter was Gotokuji Temple. Another place was Shinjuku Gyoen., one of my favourite spots. Here I listened to the sounds of the cicadas as I walked along the tree line paths.
On another day, I had planned on visiting a festival but found it too hot and so ended up going to Nezu Jinja instead. Walking distance from Ueno Station, the trees here acted as excellent protection against the sun. Unlike a previous visit when I was so engrossed by the Azalea Festival that I didn’t explore this beautiful old shrine well enough, this time I took my time thanks, again, to the large trees there. The trees surrounding the shrine's pond also provided much in the way of shade and coolness.
All of these experiences only helped to reinforce my fascination with Japan's trees. To be honest, I think I am in love with them! Perhaps its the lack of trees where I live back home but I find the trees on the grounds of temples and shrines to be simply amazing. The one's I come across in Shinto shrines are very old, sacred and are carefully supported even when not much more than a bare trunk.
So while my parasol didn't do all that much for me, the same can'[t be said for Japan's trees. I love them and they are great way to beat the Tokyo heat in summer.
