Hanami, etc.

Hello!

I apologize for the long gaps in between my posts here. I realize that I still have not put up a Tokyo Part II post yet...that will come sometime, hopefully sometime soon, when I am not feeling lazy. Instead I will write about hanami, or the cherry blossom celebration, while it is still relevant.

(by the way, note that you can now click on the images for a larger view!)



A group of merrymakers

Hanami celebrations generally last through the 10 days or so that the cherry blossoms survive, and consist mostly of having picnics and barbecues under the cherry blossoms, eating seasonal foods (or in our case, combini (convenience store) food--much better than convenience store in the US), and drinking. Notably, this is the only event of the year in which it is acceptable to drink in public. I did not see any drunk people wandering around, although I did see many jolly-looking salarymen.



Along the walk to the train station


Hanami in Yawata


The view from within

The first cherry blossoms actually began to appear awhile ago, as early as late March, although the flowers were pretty few and far between. I am lucky in that there are a number of cherry trees lining the path that I take to the train station each morning, so I have gotten to monitor their progress, as well as appreciate them as much as possible. Additionally, there is a famous hanami spot beyond the station, about a 20-minute walk from my house, with a mile-long walk completely enclosed by cherry trees (photographed above). I'm not sure how many there are, but it was really amazing. The first time I went there was with my host mother, and we went on a Saturday afternoon, April 3rd, when it was full of people. There were so many smells of barbecue that took me back to summer afternoons at home, and many families and their pets walking, eating, and playing sports. One lady even brought her cat. I thought it looked a little scared though, especially considering the number of yappy dogs...Anyway, it was so nice, really pretty and dreamlike.



At the garden of the old imperial palace in Kyoto


A cool group of salarymen celebrating hanami

The next day, I went to the old imperial palace in Kyoto (the emperor now lives in Tokyo, but Japanese history buffs will know that he lived in Kyoto for a long time during the days of samurai) with Mieko and Alex. I had never been there before, but apparently it too is a famous place for the celebration. The cherry trees were a little more diffused than at Yawata, but nonetheless it was really pretty, and it was fun to people-watch (e.g., the picture above). Hanami seems to be especially popular among families with young children, who were really cute.





The Philosopher's Walk in Kyoto

This past weekend, Alex and I went to Kyoto and went down the Philosopher's Walk. It is a path that runs through an old area of Kyoto, and was supposedly used as a place for meditation of a philosophy professor at a local university. It is easy to see why--it runs along a little creek, and the whole thing was lined with cherry trees and countless little shops selling traditional art, clothes, food, and other curiosities. It was really crowded, and the Japanese people there were all stopping to take pictures on their cell phones. I highly recommend it--I'm sure it's still beautiful in the summer and fall, and it felt like I had stepped into ancient Japan.



The garden of the Silver Pavilion


A view from above

The Philosopher's Walk culminated in the Silver Pavilion, which is a famous Buddhist temple. Built in the 1400's, it was originally meant to be the retirement place of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. Now, it seems not to be an attraction so much for religious reasons, so much as just because it is really pretty and has an amazing garden. There were sand gardens, as well as a pond and a path among trees and pretty plants that led up a hill to an amazing view over the garden and downtown Kyoto. I think that it's my favorite of all of the sightseeing locations that I've been to in Kyoto. (Then again, I have yet to witness its big brother, the Golden Pavilion.)

Unfortunately it's been a little rainy this week, meaning that most of the fragile flower petals have now been knocked down. In spite of the weather, I now feel that it is springtime! Hurrah!


Also, on a funny note, on my way to the station to go to Kyoto one day I saw the most pitiful cat ever. Enjoy!


CAT!