Sakura!

Erica here.

This past week, cherry blossoms all over Tokyo were in full bloom. Two weekends ago, I went hanami-ing? (is that the right term?) The kanji for hanami is 花見. 花 = hana = flower, 見 = miru = to see. I went to Omiya-koen (Omiya park) one day and Kinrin-koen (in Sugito) the next day with Yoshinhara Sensei.

We have cherry blossoms in Vancouver as well, but it is nothing compared to Japan.

At Omiyakoen, a big area of the park was filled with sakura trees and in every which direction you looked was a canvas of cherry blossoms. It was breath taking and definitely a must-see if you visit Japan around this time.

Omiya-koen

Then last Saturday after karate class, two very nice guys from the dojo (Okano-san and Hirai-san) took Louise and I to Gongendo in Satte city to view cherry blossoms at night. This is apparently called yozakura. Gongendo is popular site to see sakura because it has a 1km path with cherry blossoms on either side of it. At night, there are flood lights that shine on them so they can be seen. I was told that the yozakura is for all the people who work during the day and don't have a chance to go see the cherry blossoms. So after work, when it is dark out, they light up popular areas with sakura so that people can enjoy at anytime of the day.

Seeing cherry blossoms at night is completely different than during the day. It might be the romantic/mysterious aura that is given off by the contrast of dark and light and something so beautiful. It was a very memorable experience!

Yozakura at Gongendo

Group picture!
From left to right: Okano-san, Hirai-san, Erica, Louise, Louise's friend Toshiki

Cherry Blossoms...

Carl here...



The past few weeks has been a great time for hanami: 花見 or flower viewing. In particular the Cherry Blossoms that have been in bloom. The Japanese take this very seriously, if you turn on the TV during these special weeks, you will see the news channels telling you where the best places are to see the blossoms at their best.

The cherry blossoms are really just an excuse for family, friends and colleagues to get together and.... drink!

Amy and I were invited to Richard Sensei' house a few weeks ago for a delicious lunch and then we went to Karaoke. Afterwards, we decided to have a nice relaxing walk through Omiya park. The walk quickly became a lesson in Japanese culture... this is what we found:



Every walkway was filled with vendors selling food and drink, and every bit of grass was covered over by a huge tarpaulin sheet with a bunch of revellers on. That wasn't too bad, though the Karaoke machines that had been rigged up to noisy generators somewhat spoiled the mood.



According to the TV, the blossoms weren't at their best so we quickly got away from the masses and walked around the nearby shrine instead...


Gongendo
Making the most of a very warm day, Amy and I went to Gongendo park in Satte city, apparently it's a very famous place for viewing the cherry blossoms...



...once again the vendors were out in force. It really is a Japanese idea that if something is worth enjoying, then it's worth enjoying enmasse.



But we did have a great picnic before we both had to rush off to work.



The cherry trees are everywhere, and they really are beautiful when in bloom. You really have to make the most of these trees whilst they're in bloom because a few days after these pictures were taken some strong winds came across Sugito and overnight ALL the flowers were gone from the trees!


Nishi Kinren park in Sugito