Sakura of the north

Sunday morning we were off to see the three great sakura spots of Tohoku! But first we had to ride the shinkansen! Riding the shinkansen is a specialty that requires all the right circumstances to line up as it’s very expensive, so when Sheena proposed a tour that included three prefectures I wanted to see, a castle, sakura and a ride on the bullet train, I jumped at the opportunity. But as I mentioned in an earlier post, it did not look like we would see sakura for the weather had been foul and all the expected dates of blooming had been pushed back. Resigned to enjoy ourselves anyways we were amazed by the transformation of the land. Summer came in a single weekend and turned winter trees to cotton candy. Our first stop after the shinkansen was Kitakami in Iwate, famous for its tunnel of sakura over a kilometer long. Also as it was nearing the children’s festival, strings of koi streamers were bound across the river and there was a beautiful horse and cart and daffodils along the path. It was so lovely I found myself walking in circles just to enjoy it all!

 

 

In the afternoon we found our tour in Kakunodate in Akita, where there was a beautiful well preserved samurai district with swaying sakura trees that wept into the streets. We wandered around a bit but were eventually drawn to the river side where two kilometers of trees lined the shoreline. We were told that in the morning most of the trees had still been buds but by afternoon, in the summer heat, they had erupted! We were so lucky! Oh! Also, the panda is the embodiment of Rhee I promised to take it places and at last it got its chance to shine!

On the way to the hotel for the night we made one last strange stop that was completely unexpected. We stopped for a flower called mizubasho in Japanese. When Sheena looked it up we found we had stopped for skunk weed! I giggled about it for a while until we descended these stares and I found myself in the most beautiful swamp field that could ever exist. The light was dimming and the sky was cool blue, the trees were still bare but at their base nestled in the clear water were the flowers that well resembled those I grew up with in the ravine, were more beautiful for being appreciated such as they were. And the best part was the series of narrow boardwalks that crisscrossed through the garden, it was surprising fantastic!

The hotel was a lovely stop in its own way! Dinner was included in our trip and it was a fantastic buffet of marinated chicken and spring vegetable, asparagus and bacon, pasta, salad, soup, shabu shabu, tempura and sashimi! It was so delicious paired with an umeshu on the rocks and sweet cakes for dessert. Followed were a few fireworks in the parking lot, a luxurious bed and then sleep! It was the perfect early night until a little earthquake woke us up. But all was well and we drifted off again to wake up early for the next day in Hirosaki.

Another original castle to cross off my list! Hirosaki is one of the younger originals being that it was built in the 1800s but it was still lovely, made more so by the sakura and a pretty little red bridge. (I have discovered that I am quite fond of bridges, as my friends say, I should have realized this ages ago lol!) Near the end of sakura season the moat is said to flow with petals but I was kinda happy it hadn’t for there were more reflections to enjoy. We spent two hours just floating from tree to tree and playing with the flower, our cameras and the views of the castle. It was better than I imagined!

The best was over and having found ourselves in Aomori prefecture, the furthest one north on the main island, there was nothing left to do but wind our way to Sendai to meet the shinkansen. On the way we climbed up mountains in the bus, while enjoying a bento lunch of food from the area, and twisted our way through a mountain path where the snow towered as high (and in some place higher) than the bus. Then we descended into a river valley and drove along a gorge with this nice little river which is famous in autumn and finished by driving along a famous caldera lake.

We made it safely to the shinkansen and then home for in the morning on Tuesday I had to go to school. The strange thing about golden week is it’s not quite a week just a bunch of holidays that hang out together. So in the end I had to work Tuesday and Wednesday but got a four day weekend in return. More on that to come!

Revenge on the pink

My last blog entry saw me in a sad state of affairs: a sakura season without sakura. But if there is a good for every bad than it was definitely worth the rain and the lack of blossoms to have the first weekend of golden week be as magnificent as it was! But first a peek into the previous week:  Iwadonosan and its little castle site in all its pink glory, a beautiful pink and white tree of flowers at the side of the road and my new car under the sakura at school (its name is Kei… it’s very new and doesn’t yet have a personality.)

Anyways, that weekend a had a late night phone call and things got a bit rough after already worn down by my new work load I received sad news from home that grandpa had passed away, a cold and some rain followed this so by the time golden week came I was ready for a break. At first, I tried to fly home and be with my family, but as this became impossible I was glad that I had a trip coming up with Sheena to Tohoku. The purpose of said trip was to see the three famous spots for sakura in northern Honshu but the weeks leading up to this were cold and bleak and it appeared as if a second weekend without sakura was upon us. I don’t know how it happened, it should have been impossible, but a miracle happened: the last few days before our trip were not just warm they were hot and the sakura bloomed! It was a gift not wasted, but first I will talk about Saturday.

 

So Saturday I awoke to the first clear sky in weeks and rushed to Fujiyoshida to capture the iconic image of the pagoda, the sakura and Mt. Fuji, somewhat of the triple threat in the Japanese photography world. It was the perfect morning and everyone was so friendly because it was clear and warm and sakura is gorgeous! 

Then I met up with Sheena and we took our revenge on Nagano but returning to see the sakura at the Takato castle ruins. Last time were there it was cold and rainy and there was not a blossom in sight so miserably I couldn’t even manage a photo. This time, while a bit past peak, it was warm and sunny and very pink! It was so lovely with a warm spring breeze that brought down a shower of pedals around us as we strolled about taking pictures, gazing at the pond of petals and tree shadows and eventually resting under a big tree to eat sakura ice cream and watch it rain pink on us; it was magical!

Then we went to this cool temple at the foot of these mountains and I found the prettiest little pond that reflected the sakura back at us like it was a shadowy mirror! Captivating!  We finished the day with finding some daffodils and taking pictures of that before going out for dinner of the regions specialty: sauce katsu! It was delicious!

 

At the end of the day I was content and warm and happy and it was only the first day! After we went to Tohoku by shinkansen for two days of more perfect sakura! The miracle sakura! And eventually finished the week off with a day in the flowers and a day at a festival where gigantic kites were flown in honour of first born sons! I began to remember why I loved Japan and slowly the homesickness washed away.