Afternoon delight

Afternoon delight? Not so exciting, she is wearing old style back closure bra(?)

I never got how people can just fall asleep on the grass in a public place. I know Japan is safe and all, but still.... Nice picture anyway.

Afternoon delight? Reminds me of a scene out of Arrested Development, where the phrase (as it has come to mean) was also misunderstood. I think it's great that people can crash out almost anywhere without fear of being robbed or attacked (I would still hold onto my bag handle though!)

she is wearing old style back closure bra(?)

Old style? Most bras are still like this :S

I was in the park yesterday afternoon, it was perfect weather for it. People sleeping all over the place, and I was also thinking how nice it is to live in a country where it's usually safe to do this.

oginome

Japanese can sleep any where , we've all seen them asleep standing up on trains, i've seen cops asleep at their desk in front of their senior at the police station, these people have no shame or fear of sleep.

Lucky them.

People sleeping all over the place, and I was also thinking how nice it is to live in a country where it's usually safe to do this.

Plus, you also get a free chest x-ray while doing it.

Japanese can sleep any where , we've all seen them asleep standing up on trains, i've seen cops asleep at their desk in front of their senior at the police station, these people have no shame or fear of sleep.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it actually reflects well on their country's level of safety, but I just couldn't do it myself. Even though I know it's safe, I'd be too paranoid about being robbed.

skyrockets in flight

Sorry guys, but in what country is it not safe to sleep in a park and what happens there?

When I saw the picture of the day, I could only think, what a boring picture. There are many exciting or important things going in Japan but JT offers a man sleeping in a park.

He is just about to put on "the move".

LoveNot - Was the picture of a peaceful scene in a park a tad light on the blood, gore and guts for you?

Personally, I welcome it.

The media, including JT seems to think it necessary to bombard us with a stream of stories about war, accidents, fatalities, crimes, disease, corruption and general bad news at us.

Isn't it nice to just see something peaceful and gentle for a change?

It reminds us that not all is bad with this world.

How many bags does a girl need?

How many bags does a girl need?

Same as in western countries; One more than the guy.

Isn't it nice to just see something peaceful and gentle for a change?

JT offers very often pictures of sleeping men in a park. Diversity please. Nothing against peace and gentleness because I am a very gentle and kind person.

Great song. And olde but a goodie.

I would be concerned about leg-lifting dogs while sleeping in a park :-)

Sleeping while hiking is okay though.

I was wondering why leaves and grass are green. They could be all pink, black, purple, etc.

My wife informs me the green color is due to chlorophyll.

Thank God for chlorophyll.

By the way, the young coulpe are clearly mapping out how to rob the man taking a nap on the grass.

Why isn't this in the Crime section? :-)

So is that 100 percent stone or concrete made to look like stone? Whered they get it? How much did it cost? And who carved it? Being a public area of a park, I guess it would have to be Japanese right? Taxes were spent locally right?

So is that 100 percent stone or concrete made to look like stone?

I do not think it is stone but I believe it is too hot to sit on it.

Is that really Tokyo? They usually do not let you on the little grass they have here. Also, those Pine trees are not native to Tokyo Parks.

Is that really Tokyo? They usually do not let you on the little grass they have here. Also, those Pine trees are not native to Tokyo Parks.

It's probably Shinjuku Gyoen where you pay to get in.

Is that really Tokyo? They usually do not let you on the little grass they have here. Also, those Pine trees are not native to Tokyo Parks.

The large green areas across the busy road from the Imperial Palace have pine trees and you can sit on the grass. As for not usually being allowed on the grass, ever been to Yoyogi Park? Shinjuku Gyoen? Koganei Koen? Showa Kinen Koen? Komazawa Koen, Nogawa Koen and many others have large expanses of grass you can sit on, all free other than Shinjuku Gyoen as mentioned.

I was wondering why leaves and grass are green. They could be all pink, black, purple, etc. My wife informs me the green color is due to chlorophyll.

Ah, but you should then ask your (biologist?) wife, why chlorophyll is green, rather than black, which seemingly would be much more efficient at harvesting the energy of the light. And if she has a good answer, please post it back here, because I would like to know as well. :)

Benches in Tokyo?

some14some - youve got me curious now - what is the "new" style??!

i cringe at the realization that there are so many cicada insects producing terrible noise in the trees and the heat is unbearable.

kids these days. no concept of "afternoon delight".

I tells ya, it has nothing to do with sitting on a stone with all your clothes on!!

@Nicky

some14some - youve got me curious now - what is the "new" style??!

I guess he/she means the clasp in the front style, supposedly making things a whole lot easier for the young teenage boys. While it leave us old timers who have the practiced our clandestine one-handed unclasping techniques since high-school, fumbling at the back wondering what they will ever come up with next.

Biology Online has this to say about why plants are green (http://www.biology-online.org/biology-forum/about675.html)

Now the reason that plants look green is that they are trying to obtain energy from the sun using a particular part of the light spectrum, mainly the red and infra red wavelengths. If you remember from your physics classes the colour you see is the colour that is reflected from the object, the other colours are absorbed. So in the case of green plants, the green wavelength is reflected and all the other colours, especially reds and blues, are absorbed to drive the energy cycle in the plants.

At any rate, it must take a tremendous amount of work to keep those pines looking so lovely.

@Laguna

Now the reason that plants look green is that they are trying to obtain energy from the sun using a particular part of the light spectrum, mainly the red and infra red wavelengths.

Still, where they black, they would be able to absorb all wave-lengths, thus making them even more effective, which was my original question. ;-)

At any rate, it must take a tremendous amount of work to keep those pines looking so lovely. Agreed! , which makes me wonder, if all plants were black and had always been black. Would we still think the park looked lovely?

SquidBert,

According to this Website http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/ecotree/photosynthesis/spectrum.htm , "Chlorophyll a, the most important light-absorbing pigment in plants, does not absorb light in the green part of the spectrum." The question appears to be, even though chlorophyll a doesn't convert green light to energy, why doesn't the leaf just go ahead and absorb it anyway? I suppose the answer is that electromagnetic radiation can cause much damage, such as that to DNA and chemical bonding; it also causes heat. If the leaf has no use for it, it would be best for the leaf just to reflect it.

...if all plants were black and had always been black. Would we still think the park looked lovely?

My guess is yes. We don't think parks are lovely because they are green; we think green is lovely because we associate it with nature (and permission to pass through an intersection - or is that blue?) For example, people with colorblindness see no perceptible difference between red, orange, yellow, and green - yet whatever color they do see, I'm sure, excites the same emotion that green does for us.

I was going to ask this morning but didn't have time... can anybody tell me what is the pink line on her bum? Is it some kind of pattern on her dress? I can't figure it out and it's aggravating me :D

can anybody tell me what is the pink line on her bum?

There isn't any pink line... sounds like you're sufering from "pervert's eye", (related to athlete's foot and tennis elbow and caused by excessive gazing at ladies' bottoms...). :)

There isn't any pink line... sounds like you're sufering from "pervert's eye", (related to athlete's foot and tennis elbow and caused by excessive gazing at ladies' bottoms...). :)

Haha! But actually there is a pink line. I can see it very clearly using Firefox.

@Seriously

I can see it very clearly using Firefox.

And a powerful magnifying glass, I bet... ;)

No, you're right: there is a pink line, but I guess it'll have to remain one of those eternal female mysteries....

Readers, that ends this line of discussion.

@Laguna

Thanks for looking that up, you are being a really good sport here, so please don't mistake this for me trying to pick a fight. :)

"Chlorophyll a, the most important light-absorbing pigment in plants, does not absorb light in the green part of the spectrum." The question appears to be, even though chlorophyll a doesn't convert green light to energy, why doesn't the leaf just go ahead and absorb it anyway?

No Actually, the question is why doesn't it convert green light in the same way as red? Think about it, if evolution tries to find the most effective solution to all problems it is facing, then wouldn't it make sense that it developed a way to convert the light from the whole spectra into energy? Why Ignore just the green part?

it also causes heat. If the leaf has no use for it, it would be best for the leaf just to reflect it. I think you might be on to something here, still then it would be more effective to reflect the red light which contains the most heat energy.

Sleeping on the grass outside on a sunny day is one of my favourite things to do.

No Actually, the question is why doesn't it convert green light in the same way as red? Think about it, if evolution tries to find the most effective solution to all problems it is facing, then wouldn't it make sense that it developed a way to convert the light from the whole spectra into energy? Why Ignore just the green part?

Because it's God's will

Mother Nature is a lot better at adaptation than innovation, just like John Candy in Splash! said: "Hey, when something works for me, I stick with it." In addition to chlorophyll a, leaves contain carotene and anthocyanins, which do absorb green but are produced in lesser amounts because they are not as efficient. It takes energy to produce chlorophyll, and in the autumn, when sunlight hours and temperatures are reduced, chlorophyll production stops, leaving just the latter two chemicals, which is why leaves appear yellow or red. But just like Windows, leaves are stuck with the a DNA that utilizes the chemicals which, while perhaps not perfect, have worked for it in the past.

It's been interesting looking into this topic.

it seems everyone in japan naps during lunch. whip out the bento, scarf down lunch then snooze for about an hour. its better then coffee i tell you.

wow, a park with real grass

"skyrockets in flight"

Beat me to it Ayler!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa - afternoon delight!

Love a nap.

Before coming to the rock I never caught zzzzs after lunch - now it is mandatory.

Older, softer and of course wiser. Good old Japan.

wow, a park with real grass

I am not sure if you could call this REAL grass considering all the chemicals that went into it to get it that green.

Always loved the Japanese way of taking naps mid-day after your lunch.

Kind of a dull pic.... I can go to my local park and get the same lazy day atmosphere xD. I do want to travel to Japan soon again though, really need to get my feet out of the country at least once a year.

I don't think napping in the park is what the writers of the song had in mind when they wrote "Afternoon Delight" which popularized the expression.