One of the more famous places in Japan for viewing the cherry blossoms is Maruyama Park (円山公園) in Kyoto. We didn’t plan to go there, but ended up in the thick of things anyway. We had a splendid little lunch of yakiniku with C.C. Lemon to wash it down next to these guys who were enjoying their Asahi Beer (advertised in yesterday’s blog entry).

Cherry blossom viewing parties (花見) are a common sight in late March and early April in most of Japan. This picture captures the essence of many of those parties: food, friends, beer, kimono, lanterns, and Mickey Mouse. Actual cherry blossoms are an optional bonus. We were lucky enough to have them on this occasion. We did a 花見 in Tokyo, which was just as crowded, without any blossoms yet on the trees.

Related posts:

1. Ueno park 上野公園 Ueno Park (上野公園) in Tokyo is famous for its cherry blossoms. Unfortunately, we were a bit too early (in late March) to see many. Another week or two and this...
2. Arashiyama I took the above picture on March 29, 2007. As you can see, that’s just a little too early in the year for the cherry blossoms to be going nuts...
3. Tokyo Sakura On March 26 we visited Shinjuku Gyoen (新宿御苑) for the first time. It was still a week or so too early for the peak of the cherry blossoms (sakura), but...
4. Nighttime sakura in a fierce wind The hanami parties officially started on the Kanda River on April 1 (and run through April 10). That evening included very warm temperatures and a very strong wind. The “shake”...
5. Nighttime sakura In Kyoto, and other places in Japan, you can view cherry blossoms (sakura) at night. Spotlights or lanterns are frequently used to get the desired affect....

Posted on January 15th, 2009 under Japan • Tags: cherry blossoms, food, japan pictures, kyoto, people, sakura. • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback