This week's pictures are of Tachikawa; second of the three cities Martin and I are responsible for on the Chuo rail line. I don't have any statistics, but Tachikawa seems to be a leader in doing what's best for its citizens, and sets the standard for surrounding cities; especially in the area of health. You can tell by this manhole cover that health is very important. All manhole covers on the sidewalks are colorfully painted. There are signs posted on most streets urging people not to smoke, and to live healthy.

The monorail shows another aspect of the city as being not only a leader, but innovative. This is the only one I have seen in Tokyo. From the train station, the monorail transports passengers to the outskirts of the city quickly, cutting down on pollution created by buses.

This is the entrance to Showa Koen (park). It has been one of our favorite places to go on the weekends. It is huge!! Up until last week, we had only gone to the front of the park. This is where we had our picture taken with the large pumpkin on our October 30 blog. Walking to the fountain, turning right, and it opens up to a massive area where I walked for an hour and still didn't reach the end of the park. Literally thousands of people visit here every weekend.

Inside the park there are two small lakes; this one offers paddle boat and canoe rentals. You can also rent single, or tandem bicyles for the day. The park also offers us lots of opportunities to interact with the Japanese; a friendly and gracious people.

This past Wednesday, Veterans Day was observed in the United States. Wherever we have lived in the world, there has always been a United States military presence; Japan is no different. This presence has always given us a sense of security while living outside the U.S. From Showa Park you can observe aircraft from the Yokota Air Force Base which is just a short distance away. Knowing some of our blog readers have served at Yokota, we thought of you on Veterans Day. Thank you for your service.

Today the Air Force has been especially busy; lots of air traffic. Our suspicion is, it is because President Obama is visiting Tokyo.