Category: The Spring

The Rainy Season Has Begun

Actually the rainy season in Tokyo was officially announced on May 29 this year.
And as usual, the minute they announce the start of the rainy season…it stops raining. Weird how that works. We’ve really had mostly sunny days since we hit rainy season. So sunny, in fact, that I already have quite the sun tan from just walking to and from work.
But it seems the rainy season is finally upon us. The forecast for this week is rain everyday…and as much as I love waking up to a sunny morning, I’m glad it’s raining.
Because the beautiful hydrangeas are in full bloom and nothing compliments them better than rain. And yes, this is just my opinion. But look how pretty they look with the raindrops!
Happy rainy season 😀

The Afternoon Walk on Saturday

Some days are too gorgeous not to be outside!
Saturday was one of those days. It was glorious outside and I started my walk from Harajuku and before I knew it, I was in Shinjuku. Of course I stopped here and there to take pictures along the way.
My old boss used to tell me that a true real estate businessman goes out and walks around the streets to get to know the area. He said that no amount of research can exceed the power of seeing through your eyes and interacting with local people. And although I did lift an eyebrow at the use of the word “businessman (Hello? I am a woman.),” I have to agree. Every time I walk down a new street I learn something new about that area.
Like this weekend, I never realized how close Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium was to Shinjuku Gyoen, my favorite park. I’ve started working out lately (kind of) so it was really interesting seeing the facilities there. They have a pool and gym that are open to the public when the gymnasium is not used for events…they even had a basketball hoop with a half court. Made me wish I could actually play basketball.
I also couldn’t resist stepping into Shinjuku Gyoen for a bit. I was just enjoying all the green sprouting everywhere in the park when I remembered Rurousha’s azalea post. So off I went looking for azaleas! (You can see what I found below in the pictures!) After the azaleas, it felt so good under the sun that I ended up taking a little nap in the field. Actually, it may have been a deep sleep. Not too sure but it felt great. And it was all worth having pieces of grass and bits of dirt all over my dress and hair. Ha.
Here are the pictures:

Azaleas decorating every other street.

Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium looks UFO-ish, don’t you think?

Shinjuku Gyoen was multiple shades of green…so gorgeous.

The azalea garden was a bright burst of color in this corner of Shinjuku Gyoen.

Quite the change from this view but I love this, too.

I am addicted to these homemade granola bars…this one is cranberry, raisin, and chocolate.

Never one to miss a chance to walk barefooted.
If this great weather keeps up, afternoon naps in the park may become a weekly thing!

The Sakura in Yamamoto

Finally catching up on my posts from Yamamoto!
I have been sick this week like never before. Like barfing-all-night-with-a-high-fever kind of sick. And I have found that age does not make getting sick easier. What ever happened to the days of hopping out of bed the minute the fever goes down and go skipping outside? My fever didn’t go down for two days and even when it did, I felt like crap. I am seriously going to take better care of myself so that never happens again.
That being said, this week HAS helped me lose most of my winter weight all at once so I guess it’s not all that bad 😀
Anyways, so here are the lovely cherry blossoms in full bloom in Yamamoto. We were so lucky to be able to see them last weekend. And we even had blue skies to accent the pretty blossom!

The tree standing at the entrance of the volunteer center at the town hall.

We oohed and ahhhed over the cherry trees in bloom in various parts of the town while heading out to the greenhouse we were helping out for that day. They were in bloom everywhere!
After our day was done, we also stopped by the famous cherry blossom spot Hitome-senbon-zakura (一目千本桜) in the neighboring town. Over 1,000 cherry trees stand along an 8km stretch of Shiroishi River. We were only there for a little time but with lanterns along the trees and the thriving food stalls, the whole area was really festive!

Group picture under the cherry blossoms! 😀

The History of the Dogwood

As the cherry blossom season slowly comes to and end
the flowering dogwood starts to bloom.
I find this timing to be very fitting.
A lot of people know the history of how Japan
sent cherry trees to Washington DC in 1912.
A total of 3,020 trees, to be exact.
If we’re going to be even more specific
it was the city of Tokyo that sent the trees.
This was after learning that the First Lady Taft
was planning on planting cherry trees in Washington DC.
2,000 cherry trees were actually first sent in 1910
but they realized that the trees were infested
and they had to be burned.
So Japan sent another batch of cherry trees in 1912
which are the cherry trees that are currently growing in DC.
So we all know of this story and
how famous the cherry trees are in DC.
Did you know that the U.S. gave us back a tree?
(Am I the only one who didn’t know???)
That’s right.
They gave us the beautiful dogwood tree
as a token of thanks in 1915.
So the fact that the dogwood flowers start to bloom after
our cherry blossoms seems fitting some how.
And also coincidentally, dogwood means
“returning thanks” in flower language.
Or maybe it’s not a coincidence? 😀

The Surprisingly Long Sakura Season

It’s been super cold and gloomy in Tokyo.
It even rained some days.
I’ve really missed sunny days.
But you know what?
The cold weather has kept the cherry blossoms
from hitting full bloom too soon.
And so when I walked along the river today
this is what I saw…still in bloom!
Sometimes gloomy weather is a blessing.
I’ll be travelling this weekend so
I’m glad I got to see such pretty sakura
under the blue sky one last time 😀

The Sakura in Shinjuku Gyoen

My love for this gorgeous park just grows and grows.
I heard that Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden was in full bloom
and couldn’t pass up the chance of seeing it all myself 🙂

Shinjuku Gyoen has over 1,300 cherry trees within the park.
About 420 trees are the ever popular Somei Yoshino.
But what’s so great about this place is that
they have SO MANY different types of cherry trees.
You can enjoy an array of colors and shapes.
And the greatest thing about it is
you can enjoy the cherry blossoms for a longer time
because they all reach full bloom at different times…YAY!!!

And tell me if this beautiful reflection on the lake
doesn’t make you want to run to Shinjuku Gyoen right now? ;D

The Hanami in Yoyogi Park

Yes, you heard right.
We braved the hanami crowds
and headed to Yoyogi Park this weekend!
It was a very impromptu hanami
as sakura season came quite early this year.
But I’m glad we got to do it!
Drinks, sandwiches, and snacks…perfect for hanami 😀

Cherry blossoms scattered above our heads
It was a pretty chilly day
and it wasn’t the perfect blue sky.
But we had a grand ole time under the pretty cherry blossoms!
And you know what?
It wasn’t as crowded as I thought!
We were there from around 11am to 3pm but
there was plenty of space around us.
I guess all those rumors that Yoyogi Park
is jam packed during hanami season is a myth?
Maybe I’ll make hanami with friends an annual thing 😀

The Season of Sakura Spam

The season is finally here!!!

The season that makes me leave for work extra early
because I take tons of pictures on my way.
The season that we wait for all year to come
and we make hanami plans according to the hanami forecast
and then it gets warm super early and everyone is hustling to reschedule.

So prepare to be spammed.
Sakura spammed.