I’ve been posting cherry blossom photos to the point of boredom lately. I figured I didn’t need to see any more of them, but an acquaintance invited me along, so I headed out for the weekend. The plan was to drive somewhere a bit farther out and see some gorgeous blossoms.
But it turned out that plan wasn’t so easy. Even though the cherry blossoms are at their peak in central Tokyo, a lot of the places worth going to on the outskirts hadn’t even bloomed yet. Japan is a long country from north to south, so there’s a lag of one to two weeks. So picking a spot was a real headache. I wanted to go to Gunma, but we had no choice but to go to Kanagawa. Well… honestly it didn’t have to be this week, but everyone coming along was busy, so postponing was hard.
The cherry blossoms are at their peak.
I can’t say it’s as pretty as Kyoto, but the way the blossoms are past their peak and slowly falling is beautiful.
A Japanese hanami scene
It feels like a picnic outing. In the city center you’ll see people singing at the top of their lungs and drinking and partying, but maybe because this is on the outskirts, it’s quiet. Enka music drifting over now and then wasn’t great, though.. There weren’t as many people as I expected. At Yoyogi or Ueno Park there wouldn’t have been room to stand.
Petals flutter down like snow.
Can you see them?
It’s like snow.
I think this might be the best shot of the day.
The event grounds
There are all sorts of events to draw in the local residents.
Cherry blossoms over the graves
The reason cherry blossoms are red is…
An ocarina performance
It feels like a party for the elderly, for all the grandpas and grandmas ^_^
The rain of petals keeps falling.
Honestly, I wanted to go toward Gunma, which is great for a drive and bigger too, but it looked like the peak there wouldn’t come until the third week of April. They say you can enjoy cherry blossoms in Japan until the end of May, so maybe I can enjoy the season a little longer ^_^ Shall I go blossom-viewing every week? Then again, I’m starting to get a bit tired of cherry blossoms. When is this spring ever going to end…