Alligator Gar in Tokyo river

Do you know what an 「アリガーターガー」 “alligator gar” is?

It’s a 「ワニ魚」 (“alligator fish”) native to Mississippi, America. I grew up in the south-eastern U.S. (in fact, I was born in Mississippi) but I never heard of this creature until today.

The 「アリガーターガー」 (alligator gar) is a carnivorous fresh-water fish that has the head (and teeth!) similar to an alligator.  They can grow to lengths of 1.8 – 3 meters (six to ten feet).

The freakish "alligator gar"

The reason I heard about the 「アリガーターガー」 (alligator gar) today is because a 1.5 meter (five feet) long 「アリガーターガー」 (alligator gar) has been seen swimming in the 呑川 (Nomikawa River) in 東京都大田区 (Oota-ku, Tokyo).

It’s assumed that someone purchased the 「ワニ魚」 (“alligator fish”) as a pet and set it free when it grew too big.

Due to the danger it poses to the fish, ducks, turtles, that live in the river (and, or course, to children that may be play in the river), authorities intend to catch the 「アリガーターガー」 (alligator gar) and give it to an aquarium.

矢切りの渡し

Today we went to the river area because the weather was good for just being outside…blue sky and comfortable temperature.

It was a nice day out.

First, we saw two chickens that were just walking around.

Here’s a picture and a video of the rice fields that were near the river:

At this river is the 矢切りの渡し (Yagirinowatashi river ferryboat) that has been operating from that spot since the 江戸時代 (Edo Period, when Tokyo (東京) was named Edo (江戸) and wasn’t yet Japan’s capital).
This ferry still carries people across the river. Since there are now many bridges spanning the river and one can cross on foot, bicycle, car or train…the ferry is for sightseers now.

At the entrance to the ferry’s boarding area, there’s a very small shop that sells trinkets, souvenirs, snacks, soda, ラムネ (Japanese Ramune pop), and beer.
So we bought something to drink and walked around.

While we were there, my daughter found some てんとう虫 (Ladybugs):

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After we got home and had dinner, we watched 「なでしこ隊」 (Nadeshikotai) on TV.

It was an emotional drama about the true story of a group of Junior High school girls who helped at the base in Japan where 神風 (Kamikaze) pilots took off on their missions during World War 2.
The show is based on the experiences of one of the girls from the Nadeshikotai who is still alive today.

As I mentioned in this post, in Japan the Kamikaze has a different image than in the West.
Here, they are seen as tragic heroes who sacrificed their lives for their country.

Bike ride…

Yesterday we went on a bike ride to a park not too far from our house.

At the park, my kids caught 蛙 (frogs) and 蝉 (cicadas).

They’re girls and they’re teenagers…but they’ll still go out with their parents. And they still wanna catch bugs.
I’m glad! As their father, they’ll never grow up…in my mind!

Here’s a video of my second daughter holding a couple of 蝉 (cicadas) she caught. At the end, she asks me 「もういい？」 (“Enough?”):

There’s a Japanese style garden at the park.

(A wooden lantern)	(Looking thru a stone lantern)

Here’s a couple of shots of the river near the park:

And here are a couple of videos that I took of trains going over the bridge:

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One the way home from the park we stopped at 「ザ・ダイソー」 (“The Daiso“) for a couple things.

Do you know “The Daiso” (usually just called “Daiso”, or 百均 (Hyakkin (which is an abbreviation for 百円均一 (Hyakuenkinitsu), or 百円ショップ (¥100 Shop))?

There are other ¥100 shops…and even a ¥99 shop. But Daiso is almost synonymous with ¥100 shop.

Daiso is basically the Japanese version of the American One Dollar Store. (¥100 is almost equal to US$1)…but Daiso sells better merchandise. Better quality and more useful.

So, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to learn that they’ve expanded overseas.

There are now Japanese Daiso stores in Korea, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and the west coast of Canada and America (among other countries)!

Here’s the Daiso website.

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It’s obvious by their manners…but now it’s official:
Japanese travelers are the best tourists.