The Seniors Connection Day trip to Burnaby Mountain

by Penny Lim

On our way to eat fish and chips at Cockney Kings in Burnaby, we stopped on Burnaby Mountain to see the Playground of the Gods (known in Japanese as Kamui Mintara) by Japanese Ainu carver Nuburi Toko. He is from Kushiro, on the island of Hokkaido, which is the sister city of Burnaby.

It touched my soul to view the Ainu sculpture again. It has been a really long interval between visits. Last time, the wood was almost pristine.

Isn’t the orca on wheels intriguing? And the bond with Indigenous peoples as evidenced by their reverence towards the bear, orca, and owl. On this coast, it’s the eagle or raven.

The island of Hokkaido resembles Canada in winter. Snow and maples.