Around the world!

Tetsu and I went on a trip around the world!  Well, it was around the world but maybe not a real trip.

In our city there is an "amusement park" called Tobu World Square with miniatures of famous architectural structures from around the world.  I occasionally get to this park when I have visitors who are spending some time in Nikko and it is a rather educational park though there aren't many changes from visit to visit.  This week the park started their night-time illuminated hours and the opening night was free (which is real savings as nearly $30 a head!).  Tetsu noticed the announcement in the local newspaper and at around 6:00 in the evening we bundled up and went to check out the park.

Here is the Tokyo Sky Tree model that Tetsu and I went to see in person last year.  The real Sky Tree is so huge that from a distance in the park one would almost believe we had been transplanted to Tokyo.

Tokyo Dome is the huge sports stadium in Tokyo that I don't have much connection with EXCEPT that this is where the Tokyo International Quilt Festival is held every year and I will be among all those little people going into the dome this coming January again.

It is rather poignant to look upon the city scenery of the Twin Towers which had been depicted in Tobu World Square even before their collapse on 9/11.  Of course all these famous landmarks wouldn't have been able to be seen together in real life but it is still moving to see the tall structures on the "New York" skyline.

The park was lit up with billions of LED lights, around the architecture, along the walkways, in magical tunnels.

Another view of the "US" with the White House in the foreground and Sky Tree and the Tokyo Tower in the background.

We visited the Egyptian pyramids.

The Parthenon.

The Vatican.

Oops.  Sorry.  My geography knowledge is limited...  Is this a structure in Russia?  I like seeing the little girl looking at the piece in wonder.

Another poignant piece, Notre Dame. 

The details on the buildings are amazing. 

Tower Bridge in London all lit up in bright colors.

Sorry, I didn't get the name of this structure but it was the newest addition the park just set up this summer.  It is a palace in Thailand.

The Taj Mahal.  Another interesting thing about the Tobu World Square is that some of the figures are dressed in native costumes.  Saris on the some of the women miniatures around the Taj Mahal.  Kimonos in the Japanese sections.  Burkas around the Arabian structures.

Some Buddhist monks in the Japanese section.

The Forbidden City in China.  At some of the exhibits, there are cars or trains or parades of people that move with the insertion of a coin.  The movement adds a bit of life and drama to the dioramas.

This was the closest I could get to an overall photo of the park.  Somewhere in all that is Big Ben, The Sagrada Familia, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Versailles, Angkor Wat, the Great Wall (actually I think I was standing on the Great Wall when I took this picture) and many many other world famous pieces of architect.

It was a fast tour of the world but very exciting and we could sleep in our own beds afterwards!