Last Sunday we considered flowers -- peonies, azaleas and wisteria -- and the best places to see them during our Golden Week holidays. Here is one more outing to add to your flower calendar. The Tokyo Garden Show 2000 is being held through May 7 in the large open space in front of the picture gallery at the Meiji Shrine outer garden. Closest subway stop is Gaienmae. People arriving for the first time in Tokyo often remark about how green the city is. Here color becomes the theme. Do choose the garden show as one of your destinations as you enjoy Japan's annual spring vacation.

Today's sightseeing guide introduces walks you can take any time of the year. The title: Water Walks in the Suburbs of Tokyo. One of the authors is Sumiko Enbutsu. Both of us published walking guides to Shitamachi in 1984, hers, "Shitamachi," mine, "More Footloose in Tokyo." How odd, we thought, that after years of neglect, two books would be issued almost simultaneously, and that neither of us knew the other was writing one. It was good that we did because with the exception of temples and shrines and a few traditional shops, the face of shitamachi has changed considerably, and guides to the past may someday be of special interest. A record of the public baths in beautiful, templelike buildings, small shops with distinctive merchandise and craftsmen still making time-honored goods by hand -- and where they were -- may allow for interesting comparisons. Here and there the past seems to linger, but look carefully and you may discover that it is not as old a past as it appears. It is amusing occasionally to see a signboard above a doorway saying, "Open since 1999." In the West, such signs testify to a shop's years of reliable service, but in Japan, at least recently, the value seems to be on the new. (Please note that "Water Walks" was co-written by travel expert Mimi LeBourgeois.)

The book has a convenient feature I have not seen before -- tearout pages that are easy to carry along with you on your walking excursions. They are centered on the Musashino Plateau, a flat plain which, speaking very generally, is split by the Chuo Line running between Tokyo and Tachikawa. This was the area that was chosen for a government development program during the Edo Period that created canals to bring water to the ever-expanding city. In turn, the canals made irrigation possible and what had been little more than a dry plateau was transformed into rich farmlands, which in time allowed for new villages, shrines and temples, as well as rich farmers, as you will discover as you follow these pathways of old Japan. It is generously illustrated with reproductions of old woodblock prints which show you how the scenes you see now looked to travelers then. You can order your copy by faxing Sumiko Enbutsu at (03) 5707-7697, or by e-mail at [email protected] The cost, 900 yen plus 200 yen for postage and handling. It should be of special interest to the many foreigners living in the Yokota area since the walks will be especially convenient for them.