The Sakura no Sono Area of Yoyogi Park, one of Tokyo's largest parks, near Harajuku.

Tower of the battlements around the imperial palace gardens in Tokyo

Cherry Trees are abloom in Yoyogi Park

Mount Rushmore

25 Miles away.

Duane Robinson, a historian attempting to promote tourism to the Black Hills, was the first to conceptualize the memorial. In 1924, Robinson began to solicit Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of the Confederate Memorial Carving on Stone Mountain in Georgia, persuading Borglum to visit South Dakota's Black Hills. Borglum originally intended to carve the memorial on the granite pillars of the Needles, but after further evaluation determined the site would not withstand the sculpting process. Borglum later decided that Mount Rushmore, because of its maximum exposure to the sun, would be the perfect site for the sculpture. Upon seeing Mount Rushmore, Borglum declared, “America will march along that skyline.” In 1925, Congress authorized the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Commission, and work began on October 4, 1927.

Best Western Ramkota Hotel

and Conference Center

I-90 at Exit 59, 2111 N. La  Crosse St.
Rapid City, SD 57701

Best Western Ramkota Hotel - Rapid City offers 267 guestrooms in a 2-story property. Guestrooms feature cable television with pay movies. Business-friendly rooms are equipped with wireless Internet access, direct-dial phones, and free local calls. Guestrooms have coffee/tea makers. Bathrooms include hair dryers. Guestrooms provide clock radios. Guestrooms also provide air conditioning. Services include housekeeping and wake-up calls. Amenities available on request include extra towels/bedding. Rollaway beds are also available.

Best Western Ramkota Hotel - Rapid City features a restaurant, serving breakfast and dinner. The property provides room service during limited hours. In addition to an indoor pool, Best Western Ramkota Hotel - Rapid City provides a spa tub and a fitness facility. Meeting facilities include conference rooms, a ballroom, exhibit space, and banquet facilities. This Rapid City property provides a complimentary airport shuttle. Best Western Ramkota Hotel - Rapid City also offers a bar/lounge, a business center, and high-speed Internet access. The property has a 24-hour front desk.

Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup

Custer State Park, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota is the second largest state park in America. This park is the most popular attraction in the state. The park's 73,000 breathtaking acres are home to a variety of wildlife including bison, prong-horned antelope, sure-footed mountain goats, whitetail deer, mule deer, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, wild turkeys, and elk.

Custer State Park, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota is the second largest state park in America. This park is the most popular attraction in the state. The park's 73,000 breathtaking acres are home to a variety of wildlife including bison, prong-horned antelope, sure-footed mountain goats, whitetail deer, mule deer, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, wild turkeys, and elk.

The history of Custer State Park, South Dakota's first state park, dates back to 1897, a mere eight years after South Dakota joined the union. At this time, Congress granted sections sixteen and thirty-six of each Dakota township to be used for schools and other public purposes. The parcels scattered  throughout the Black Hills timberlands were difficult to manage and in 1906, South Dakota began  negotiations to exchange the scattered parcels for a solid block of land. In 1910, South Dakota relinquished all rights to 160,000 acres of land within the Black Hills Forest Reserve in exchange for 50,000 acres in Custer County and 12,000 acres in Harding County. In 1912, these two parcels of land were designated as Custer State Forest, and later became Custer State Park. Throughout the 1920's, the park continued to grow and acquire more land. In the 1930's, picnic sites, campgrounds, roads, bridges, and a museum were added, and damming, led to the formation of the Lakes Legion, Center, and Stockade.

One South Grady Way

Renton, Washington

Near Seattle - Tacoma International Air Port