The Weekend Review: Ha-ha-ha-HANAMI

I don't think I have ever picnicked for an entire weekend before (12 hours on Saturday & about 6 on Sunday), but the sakura trees do provide a good excuse. Turned out to be a lot of fun, but man am I still tired...

Kyoto

This weekend was definitely characterized by cherry blossom viewing and the first stop on the train to cherry blossom nirvana was Kyoto. As I mentioned last week, I've been curious about checking out this famous cherry blossom tree displayed on the calendars at my school each year. Well, I looked the location up, I went, I saw... and it was spectacular!
Sure, you wouldn't think that one tree would all that exciting, but the whole atmosphere of the place and beauty of the trees was remarkable. I was telling my mom about the visit on the phone this weekend and she reminded me of when we went to see the trees (actually a gift from Japan) in D.C. during high school. Yes, they were really beautiful, but I don't remember it being the same. There is just something about the place transforming here and the sheer number of trees. Paired with good weather and the knowledge that the blossom viewing season is brief and fleeting, it has been a beautiful experience.

The tree I went to see was inside Daigoji Temple, actually comprised of a series of three main temple areas and a pagoda (also one of Kyoto's UNESCO World Heritage Sites). I've never been to this temple before, but I was so distracted by the beauty of all the trees once I got there that I almost didn't want to take time to look at the actual buildings that I had paid to go see inside and see. All of the paths between the temples' outer walls were lined with trees, the ground strewn with peddles that would fall down like rain (we say the flowers make a "hera-hera" noise when they fall, and the snow-like fashion in which they go down is called "hanafubuki"...the special and brief experience being very "wabisabi"). I did end up spending a little time inside the temples, but really, the highlight was strolling around the grounds.

After Daigoji, I grabbed a train and raced back to the center of town (Daigoji is in S.E. Kyoto near Uji) to visit Sanjusangen-do, the Buddha temple. The place closed at 5, but I arrived around 4:40 to discover they actually close the gates and stop selling tickets at 4:30. I pleaded with a guard who eventually let me in to just peak around for a few minutes, but I didn't get to spend much time or really see all the Buddhas... I'll have to go back another time.

I spent the rest of the daylight hours just walking along the Kamogawa River. I've been over it a million times, but it was the first time I've walked along the dirt path next to the water...which is removed from the busy streets of the city and currently lined with hanging cherry blossom trees. I swear the water level in Kamogawa always seems to be really low (sometimes there are large, dirt spots in the section near Gion), but I hadn't previously realized that even when it is filled, the river is only about a foot or two deep. I could see the bottom and watched some pretty big fish (catfish?) lazily moving through the shallow, clear water. There was also a pretty impressive array of birds (ok, mostly cranes.. but I like them) in the tall grasses. The path wasn't packed, but there were a lot of couples and tourists, so the highlight was really just relaxing, getting some fresh air and while I viewed the various cherry blossom trees I passed and did a bit of people watching.

I poked around in a few places once I hit the center of town and Kyoto shopping district, but it was getting dark so I eventually followed the narrow lanes back to the main train station. I could see Kiyomizu Temple (one of my favorite temples) lit up on the hillside from one of the overpasses I went used on my walk back, so I briefly considered going to see the sakura at night there, but I was really tired and have seen the temple both at night and with sakura, so I pushed onwards to the train. I made the trip home and watched one of the movies I got along my recent travels, but it was an utterly fantastic day.

Sat & Sun

The rest of the weekend was basically dedicated to more blossom-viewing goodness and glory! I got up early on Saturday morning to meet Kelly, Yuki and Mari and head to Himeji for their sakura festival on the castle lawn. We arrived around 10am to find a place to put our giant, blue tarps, but the large lawn was already filling up fast. The event draws hundreds (thousands?) of people and there are concerts, food stalls, cheap sake (you buy a cup for the day and refill for $1) and even stands with humorous poems and haiku. We stayed for most of the day, just sipping beer, enjoying the view and sun and talking to friends. The event drew a lot of people I haven't seen for a while from all over Hyogo, so I didn't get to chat with everyone, but it was fun to catch up.

I've been inside the castle a few times now, and was just in Himeji, meeting people going to to the castle, last Wednesday, so I wasn't planning on going in, but I was really surprised to discover that they were holding a special night viewing for the occassion... and that it was free to get in. After 6pm, the castle gates re-opened and my friend Robyn and I walked around to see the trees and castle by moonlight (ok, and pink and white spot lights). It was georgous.

We were all going to go out to Osaka afterwards, but ended up heading to Tiger Pub, a local establishment, and just talking and dancing there. I took a flying dive into the pavement on the way home (not good to run for a train in crocs...) which left me with my first skinned knees in about 12 years (thankfully nobody saw!), but other than, long but very enjoyable day.

I spent Sunday doing the hanami bit again, this time in a local park in the Mukonoso/Amagasaki area. Just a smaller group of people, playing cards, sipping beer and hanging out under the umbrella of trees. It was awesome. A few Japanese people came up to offer us shots a few times (handed out cups and poured us a round), which I was definitely feeling towards the end of the afternoon, but I loved both that (just how outgoing and friendly people are & the fact that they are making an effort to get outside and enjoy the weekend with friends and fam) and the impromptu concert that one of our friends put on for a small crowd of cheering, Japanese families at the end of the night. He was actually really good.

It's raining today, which means this weekend was probably the last for the BIG sakura-viewing parties, but I'm really looking forward to getting one last little flower hurrah at my friend Shin's birthday party in Yoshino (most famous cherry blossoms in Japan with 30,000 trees!) next week. One of the guy in Mukonoso went this weekend and said that only 5% of the trees had bloomed. They're just late this year, but the staff told him next weekend should be the highlight, so I'm crossing my fingers for good weather and even better predictions on behalf of that Yoshino staff member. Until then, I just need to recover from the last weekend :-P

Hanami

There is a lot of hype surrounding the hanami (blossom viewing, hana means flower and mi - or miru - means to look) season and the trees in general in Japan, but I have to say that my doubts about whether the season deserves so much attention and regard are squashed every time the trees hit full bloom. It's absolitely beautiful. There are trees everywhere in even the smallest of towns and the gentle flowers resemble bunches of snow on some trees...fragile and blooming weeping willow branches on others. Stunning. It's a great excuse to get outside with people (if you even need one), but it also makes even simple things like walking home from the station seem somewhat more magical.