There is nothing 'joyless' about this photo or Japanese parks. I see lots of joy when I visit a park. Thumbs down all you want, I hear lots of laughter and see lots of smiles at parks here.
The man doing the push-ups looks to be wearing office attire. I wonder how he ended up deciding to do push-ups on the way to or from work.
Doesn't look like he is doing pushups in a safe place. His body is stretched across what looks like a path way. Also as he breaths in so that he can breath out as he pushes he going to breath in all the dust.
Someone mentioned that he is creepy doing pushups next to kids... maybe some of them are his kids
I love parks here. Amazing the way so many neighborhood kids are there, so you often see you kids classmates. (Where I come from they'd all be in their backyards).
Also, it's amazing being in a park at 5:30 in the morning and seeing all these elderly people walking and exercising and singing etc. Other countries could learn from them.
Maybe the best thing about Japanese parks is that people can practise instruments when they're still bad, and do dancing and shadow boxing or whatever they want without young kids telling them to shut up or harassing them.
Not so many big parks with grass - but I live near one and it's my oasis.
@Tokyokawasaki and StanThe man
Naahh, no way is he looking at ants. That is too difficult a pose to hold to spend time examining ants, must be doing pressups
@paul In usa
The children can't be as far as 15-30 meters away, count the bricks from him to the children
Your Japan probably doesn't extend beyond the borders of your neighborhood then.
Actually you are wrong there, as l have been far beyond my neighborhoods borders. Yes there are some nice grassy parks in Japan but the key word being some. I would say the majority are dirt, sand, concrete, bitumen, or the recycled rubber stuff. I have to say the biggest thing l miss in japan is grass and the smell of fresh cut grass.
Yasukuni: "Also, it's amazing being in a park at 5:30 in the morning and seeing all these elderly people walking and exercising and singing etc. Other countries could learn from them."
I agree that that is a great thing, but then some of these same old folks will go nuts on kids playing in the park in the afternoon claiming the kids are making too much noise. Sadly, the radio calisthenics doesn't seem to be catching on with the younger generation, so it's actually Japan that can learn from other nations. In Viet Nam in many places, for example, when 5 or 6 o'clock rolls around work stops and people, young and old, literally go to parks to play games with each other -- and the parks are lush with green, too. In China as well, though the time is usually in the morning. I do give this guy a bit of creds for stopping, probably on his commute, for a bit of park exercise, though.
supersixevo: "So, to back up my point; compare the parks of Japan, to the parks of the UK."
Compare them to parks ANYWHERE, because you and others are spot on about the state of MOST Japanese parks (not all). I pass dozens of 'parks' (usually a few square meters in size, tops) that are literally just dirt and a sun-bleached slide, with maybe a bench in the shape of a stone animal and a swing at best. There is ONE park near my place, on the river, which is actually quite lush (although they never bother to maintain the grass, just let it grow and then hire an army of landscapers to cut it twice a year), but unfortunately it's overrun with blue tarpaulin shacks.
obviously no one here lives/works in central Tokyo. That is Hibiya Koen and that part is popular with workers who are interested in staying in shape. There are bars and other equipment you can use to work out.
Way too many fat salarymen in that area. It is refreshing to see these people exercising.
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kwatt
This is Just a park? It looks like summer camp in forest.
supersixevo
Ah, the Japanese 'park'; a dust bowl of joyless necessity, plonked in the middle of a soulless concrete jungle.
nath
Check out the kid in the back doing the Spiderman!
Clemens Simon
I see lots of trees and people having fun. What are you talking about?
Ben Jack
There is nothing 'joyless' about this photo or Japanese parks. I see lots of joy when I visit a park. Thumbs down all you want, I hear lots of laughter and see lots of smiles at parks here.
The man doing the push-ups looks to be wearing office attire. I wonder how he ended up deciding to do push-ups on the way to or from work.
paulinusa
Seems like an odd place to be doing push-ups in what looks like work clothing. Using the rocks for stability,maybe?
gaijinfo
That is a very odd place to be doing pushups. In the gutter?
papigiulio
The guy walking by had his shares of pushups already it seems.
Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land
How's that? Children shouldn't be exposed to something as sinister as exercise? They're just push-ups. No pedophilia contained within.
Clemens Simon
Hence the title win!
Liberty Joe Lowe
Doesn't look like he is doing pushups in a safe place. His body is stretched across what looks like a path way. Also as he breaths in so that he can breath out as he pushes he going to breath in all the dust.
Someone mentioned that he is creepy doing pushups next to kids... maybe some of them are his kids
Ekkusaito
At first glance I thought he was passed out drunk. We've all been there right? Right??
nath
Heaven forbid a Japanese children's park should actually have nice grass....!
paulinusa
He's not "next" to the children. The camera foreshortens the distance. I'll bet they are 50-100 feet (15-30 meters) away.
NYC_Samurai
Kids enjoying some park time? -Always nice to see.
Stud cruising through? -Uh, okay. Add that I guess.
Office worker doing pushups? -Huh?
Bizarre composition.
gogogo
Japanese parks (bar Yoyogi) don't have grass for whatever reason.
Clemens Simon
The girl wearing the purple baseball cap looks photo-shopped. That or she needs to start eating more!
silvertongue
I think that guy with the Bruce Lee build gave him motivation to drop down and do 20!
beavis
Can we be sure he's doing push-ups? Perhaps he lost a contact or is studying an ant colony.
Maitake
cue theme song from Rocky
tokyokawasaki
He is not doing push-ups. He is watching some ants.
smithinjapan
Glad to see the kids having fun, but what an odd place to stop and do push-ups.
danalawton1@yahoo.com
Looks like he lost a bet to me.
StanTheMan
I agree that it looks like the guy is looking at ants.
yasukuni
I love parks here. Amazing the way so many neighborhood kids are there, so you often see you kids classmates. (Where I come from they'd all be in their backyards).
Also, it's amazing being in a park at 5:30 in the morning and seeing all these elderly people walking and exercising and singing etc. Other countries could learn from them.
Maybe the best thing about Japanese parks is that people can practise instruments when they're still bad, and do dancing and shadow boxing or whatever they want without young kids telling them to shut up or harassing them.
Not so many big parks with grass - but I live near one and it's my oasis.
Jonathan Hunt
JT commenters, here's an awesome pic of a guy randomly doing pushups. What do you think?
JAPAN HAS NO GRASS LOL
Liberty Joe Lowe
@Tokyokawasaki and StanThe man Naahh, no way is he looking at ants. That is too difficult a pose to hold to spend time examining ants, must be doing pressups
@paul In usa The children can't be as far as 15-30 meters away, count the bricks from him to the children
Cletus
Jonathan Hunt
Spot on, when l think of a park l think of trees and nice grass areas not a dirt patch with a couple of trees.
Clemens Simon
Your Japan probably doesn't extend beyond the borders of your neighborhood then.
Cletus
Clemens Simon
Actually you are wrong there, as l have been far beyond my neighborhoods borders. Yes there are some nice grassy parks in Japan but the key word being some. I would say the majority are dirt, sand, concrete, bitumen, or the recycled rubber stuff. I have to say the biggest thing l miss in japan is grass and the smell of fresh cut grass.
Clemens Simon
That statement made me laugh.
smithinjapan
Yasukuni: "Also, it's amazing being in a park at 5:30 in the morning and seeing all these elderly people walking and exercising and singing etc. Other countries could learn from them."
I agree that that is a great thing, but then some of these same old folks will go nuts on kids playing in the park in the afternoon claiming the kids are making too much noise. Sadly, the radio calisthenics doesn't seem to be catching on with the younger generation, so it's actually Japan that can learn from other nations. In Viet Nam in many places, for example, when 5 or 6 o'clock rolls around work stops and people, young and old, literally go to parks to play games with each other -- and the parks are lush with green, too. In China as well, though the time is usually in the morning. I do give this guy a bit of creds for stopping, probably on his commute, for a bit of park exercise, though.
supersixevo: "So, to back up my point; compare the parks of Japan, to the parks of the UK."
Compare them to parks ANYWHERE, because you and others are spot on about the state of MOST Japanese parks (not all). I pass dozens of 'parks' (usually a few square meters in size, tops) that are literally just dirt and a sun-bleached slide, with maybe a bench in the shape of a stone animal and a swing at best. There is ONE park near my place, on the river, which is actually quite lush (although they never bother to maintain the grass, just let it grow and then hire an army of landscapers to cut it twice a year), but unfortunately it's overrun with blue tarpaulin shacks.
smithinjapan
That walking dude that's kicking the push-up guy in the shoulder while shaking hands with the boy in the black T-shirt, though... man, great pecs!
nath
obviously no one here lives/works in central Tokyo. That is Hibiya Koen and that part is popular with workers who are interested in staying in shape. There are bars and other equipment you can use to work out.
Way too many fat salarymen in that area. It is refreshing to see these people exercising.
whiskeysour
Hahahah !!! Guys your funny. It's just 2 guys doing push ups.