花見 Hanami 2009

I guess at this point we dont need to explain Hanami. By far our favorite Japan season/party. Sadly, it will probably our last, but it was a good one, with excellent weather, friends, drinking, and so on......
More of the days photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8953511@N05/sets/72157616552914543/

Hanami at Hachimanyama Koen 2008

OHanami at Hachimanyama Koen 2008. Just another mellow Sunday afternoon in Utsunomiya. My guess is your starting to understand OHanami at this point so we'll just post pics instead of babble about it. More pics in the Flickr folder.

Ueno Hanami 2008 上野 花見

Yesterday we met a few friends in Tokyo's Ueno park for what is by far one of the largest Hanami gatherings in Japan. Ueno park is home to the Japan National Art museum and the Ueno Zoo. They claim over a thousand mature cherry trees. I would say by all means there must have been a half a million people crammed into the park yesterday, with probably at least that many more just walking through with no place to sit. Pretty enjoyable day, and with the blooms peaking in Tokyo this week, it means only 1-2 more weeks before we have our own bloom in Utsunomiya and have a bit of a fest in the Hachimanyama park. This time of the year is by far some of the best party action in Japan.