A Fukuokan's Notes from Sapporo

This park has a long history and many stories. As long as I know, the oldest episode was dated back to the ancient time. 

Some 1,800 years ago when an empress came back from a neighbouring country after a battle (this word may be replaced with invasion or conquest, depending on which side of the Japan Sea you live) , she is said to have landed around here. (I’d better stop talking about the history before you get bored, and my ignorance gets apparent).

Until the early 1960s, this site was a coal pit and heaps of coal sludge, and then turned into a big park with a ball park, barbecue area, and yacht harbour. The Fukuokans are really good at changing landscapes!!

I like walking here, because compared to my “walking along the beach” course, this park feels somewhat …how can I put it into words…forgiving? less suffocating? not strictly controlled, in general. Does it make sense?
Anyway, probably thanks to fewer “don’t do that” signs and the simply delightful view, I will feel like singing while walking; ♪I like the free and fresh wind in my hair….

Even local cats look content to be here. I think I posted a photograph of 2 cats before, but it turned out 6 or more cats are actually around, all of them are wearing the same fur pattern.

 If this park has a flaw, the atmosphere of this park is so permissive that it may invite not only innocent people, but also something dark.
I heard local people rumouring that there used to be many cases of suicide.
And last year there was a murder case: a mother strangled her 6-year old son to death in the toilet.
I try to look away when I pass the scene of the murder. So there is no picture of the toilet. If you would like to see, please come to Fukuoka. I would be pleased to take you to the crime scene.