The cherry blossoms came out incredibly early this year. So early it made me think, huh, there are years like this. Normally they do not hit full bloom until April, but this year they started opening in mid-March.
A park near Tokyo Skytree
I slipped out on the afternoon of my day off and found the cherry blossoms in beautiful bloom. By rights I should have gone off to some famous cherry blossom spot far away, but this year it was hard to travel far, so I settled for taking some souvenir photos.
Cherry blossoms
There were so many people out to see the cherry blossoms along the Sumida River.
Cherry blossoms
Cherry blossoms
Cherry blossoms
The Sumida River
Lots of people drinking, and lots of families out for a picnic. The weather was a bit chilly, but everyone was enjoying the early spring.
A man singing Showa-era pop songs
He was performing at the entrance to the cherry blossom festival, and it suited the mood of the day perfectly. It was a moment when the romance of Showa-era pop songs blended with the place, Asakusa, and the season, cherry blossoms.
From a distance..
This is what it looks like from a distance.
After a good look at the blossoms, I went to a place called Kototoi Yabu for a soba lunch. It belongs to the Yabu soba lineage, but it is not that much of a famous shop.
Tororo soba
Hand-cut noodles served with tororo (grated yam), and the noodles are decent. Being hand-made, the texture is nice too. The prices are not high either, so it seemed like the kind of place the locals would love.
Tempura seiro
The tempura was not of a very high standard. Good value for the price, but it falls a bit short of what I would call a famous shop. It is fine for enjoying hand-made noodles at a low price, but for a true gourmet experience, Azumabashi Yabusoba would be much better.
Dashimaki
The dashimaki was ordinary too. The cheap prices and big portions are welcome, but it is not really worth going out of your way for. Still, it was nice to have hand-made noodles for the first time in a while. I think I need to get my fix of hand-made soba on a regular basis.