Here is the spot in Hibiya Park where you can find the coin from Yap.
Sept. 7 - I had a lucky day recently on my walk through Hibiya Park. Quite by accident I discovered some money lying on the ground. It was round and had a hole in the middle. It looked like it had been there for quite some time, because grass was already growing through the hole.
However, I did not pick this money up, as you might expect. That is because it was made from stone and was so large that it would not fit in my pocket. It was over 1 meter in diameter. This doughnut-shaped money came from the island of Yap in the South Pacific. A sign nearby said that the Mayor of Yap (now part of the Federated States of Micronesia) had donated this stone money to Tokyo in 1925. At the time it was worth 1,000 yen.
Can you see the 50 yen coin I put on the stone coin for comparison? It's there, but you have to really look hard to find it!
The sign did not say how much this large stone money weighed, and I did not try to pick it up to find out. Even though I did not take this money home, I felt much richer knowing that I could learn a bit about traditional Micronesian culture and see this amazing sight right here in Tokyo, while walking through the park.
Until next time,
Jim
I found this blog very interesting u shared an an important historical information about Micronesian culture, whilst picking up some knowledge too!! thanks
