Winter seemed like it would go on forever. Snow, freezing temperatures, jug after jug of kerosene, bracing morning showers, living in my down jacket. Then, in March, the snow started to melt and the weather got ever so slightly warmer. All the local folks said this winter was unusually mild and spring came early. The first warm day of spring made it seem like the previous four months had been nothing but a bad dream. Then Winter gave one parting shot with a wet slushy snowfall (a few days after I took the first set of pictures below), that melted within a day.
At the end of March I took a trip to Tokyo and Kyoto again (post forthcoming), and when I returned to Hirosaki all the trees were budding. At the Yasaka Shrine next to Saisho-in, one small tree had a single branch of magenta blooms already open.
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| One little branch with blossoms, April 4th |
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| A few days later, more blossoms, April 9th |
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| One single white cherry blossom on April 9th |
All around Hirosaki spring flowers popped up throughout April - daffodils, irises, grape hyacinth. Magnolias in white and purple, red flowering quince, yellow forsythia (I think?), and later camellias and tulips too. You'll have to take my word for it though, because I was too busy to get out with my camera until the Sakura Matsuri (cherry blossom festival) arrived.
Word went around that some of the food stalls had opened in advance of the formal start of the festival, so we went to the park to get some "before" shots and eat
torimochi (skewered fried chicken and grilled mochi squares coated in a sweet and salty sauce).
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| Food stalls and a haunted house are set up between the athletic field and the shrine, April 16th |
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| Getting some ichigoame (candy strawberry) in the park |
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| Mmm candy strawberry and cappucino, delish |
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| Pink-tinged sakura branches in the Sannomaru area, April 16th |
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| Boats are ready on the West Moat, April 16th |
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| Sakura tunnel next to the West Moat, far from the food stalls, April 16th |
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| Hanging out in the sakura tunnel, April 16th |
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| West Moat and Shunyo-Bashi, April 16th |
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| Signs that it won't be too much longer, April 16th |
I stopped by the park again on the 20th, after work, to eat more snacks and check on the sakura progress.
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| Outer Moat reflection, April 20th |
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| Higashimon, April 20th |
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| Cotton candy overhead, Sannomaru, April 20th |
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| Blossoms in the Sakura Tunnel, April 20th |
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| Food Stalls near the Shrine, April 20th |
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| Shunyo-bashi, April 20th |
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| West Moat and Sakura Tunnel, April 20th |
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| Shunyo-bashi, April 20th |
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| Sakura Tunnel, April 20th |
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| Gokoku Shrine, April 20th. I just now figured out what the candy-striped scaffolding is for (to hang all the lanterns) |
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| Outer Moat again, on the way back to my illegally parked car, April 20th |
The Sakura Matsuri officially opened on Saturday the 23rd. There was an AJET-organized
hanami starting at 10, basically a picnic under the sakura, but I had to work until noon. I got to the park around 1:30 and wound up staying until about 8pm, finishing up by watching my friend busking with his shamisen in the Honmaru area around the castle. The weather was overcast but thankfully dry all day.
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| Cherry blossoms and festival crowds at the Chuo High School entrance, April 23rd |
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| Sakura and hanami in the Sannomaru area, April 23rd |
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| Lunch time at the food stalls, April 23rd |
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| Near the torimochi stall, April 23rd |
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| The Oldest Somei-Yoshino Sakura Tree in Japan, according to the sign. April 23rd |
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| Hanami near the athletic field, April 23rd |
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| Sakura Tunnel, April 23rd |
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| Boats on the West Moat, April 23rd |
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| Blossoms near Kogyou High School, April 23rd |
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| Shunyo-bashi, April 23rd |
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| JETs in the Sakura Tunnel, April 23rd |
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| Golden Hour in the Sakura Tunnel, April 23rd |
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| Sakura reflection in the Inner Moat, April 23rd |
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| Different sakura varieties in the Honmaru area near the Castle, April 23rd |
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| Sakura reflection in the Inner Moat, April 23rd |
On Sunday the 24th the weather was beautiful. I really wanted to stay home and relax, but I got on the bus to go back to the park for a few hours for a
hanami with Roxy's coworkers. While I was there, I ran into my shamisen teacher and his apprentice, my senpai, playing near the killer view of Iwakiyama from the Honmaru.
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| Heading into the Honmaru area, April 24th. |
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| Honmaru area with varied Sakura trees, April 24th |
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| The relocated Castle, April 24th |
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| Killer view of Iwakiyama, April 24th |
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| Takaoka-bashi, April 24th |
I'm pretty happy with the pictures I took at the park, but I know I didn't get anything like the amazing pictures I've seen of the sakura tunnel reflected in the mirror-like surface of the moat, or the castle soaring majestically over the tops of the trees. On Monday back in the teachers' room, I saw the pictures taken by the Earth Science sensei, and they were stunning. It turns out the key to getting those fabulous pictures is to go very early in the morning, or late at night just before they turn off the illuminations. I can't imagine waking up at 6am to go take sakura pictures, but I'll keep it in mind for next year...
It might seem like there are a ton of pictures in this post, but believe it or not there are more pictures (and less words) on my Flickr page...
