Little patch of heaven

As I was taking photos of the cute little trains on the Toden-Arakawa line, I happened upon Arakawa Sizen Park, which is home to Japanese emperor butterflies and the kind of chubby bumblebees that we don't have in the United States anymore. The park is built on a enormous man-made mound that covers the Mikawashima Wastewater Treatment Plant. So you have to climb a bit to get to the park; it's at the top of a hill. At the base of the hill are the Nichome train station platforms, where you can find the rose garden pictured here.

I saw trees and flowering shrubs that were new to me. Identifications are a little difficult here. There's the language thing, of course. Also, the apps I'm used to may not have a lot of Japanese users, so they don't get a lot of photo submissions from the locals. Same goes for the Merlin bird application. Every time I open Merlin, it detects where I am and warns that it won't be of much help. 

And it isn't. This bird I heard in Taito City is begging: "Identify me! Identify me!"

Merlin: "Our massive international database has no idea what you're saying."

Mountain laurel. Love the peppery dots and waxy leaves. The buds on the right side of the photo are tiny stars!

Early azalea. (The regular azaleas are pretty ragged now. Folks here say they peaked about a month ago.)

The pond's two swans waddle out of their wooden shelter to take a paddle.

I give up on this sun-seeking tree. Sword-leaf litsea?

PlantNet is stumped on this one. After poking around, it might be shirikashi (Japanese white oak).

Kids play in a pond hugged by azaleas. No school, I guess. It's been Golden Week here (and in China) ― four holidays mashed together. Monday is also some kind of holiday. People go back to work Tuesday. I saw a lot of Chinese tourists catching the Keisei Skyliner back to the airport on Sunday.

Fuzzy pride-of-Rochester. Sounds like something out of a John O'Hara novel, but it's native to Japan and a 100% match. Not sure what they call it here. Also known as bridal wreath.

A bumblebee goes to town on azalea pollen.

Chinese ground orchid.

Such a great little flower. If I didn't live in a pottery kiln, I would spread these everywhere.