It's Saint Patrick's Day in Nagoya, Japan.  I don't think I could have picked a more green atmosphere in which to celebrate the holiday.  


 
It's the beginning of spring, and as I sit in a lush city park near Nagoya's Sakae Station, I can hear birds chirping in delight as an older gentleman throws seeds into the sky for them to catch.  A group of young children wearing matching yellow hats explore the park's stream, and poke at multicolored fish that lazily swim through it's clear water.  An older gentleman wades slowly in the knee high stream, collecting what little debris has fallen from the trees in two blue nets he glides across the surface.  A young businessman in a three piece suit strolls purposefully along the sidewalk, pausing momentarily to deposit an empty Pepsi bottle into a hole labeled "bottles" of the large recycling bin.  The spier of the Nagoya TV tower pokes through the tips of tree branches and stands bold against a blue, cloud puffed sunny sky.  


 
I look through a patch of moss growing at the foot of a glowing magnolia tree, half expecting to find a four leaf clover.  I could stay here all day watching this park breathe, listening to the water trickle across rocks, laughing as the man in waiters sloshes a group of pigeons with a squirt from a long green hose.  The peacefulness is intoxicating.