Spring has sprung in Japan and we celebrated the only way…‘Japanese style’! Cherry blossoms, or sakura, were in full bloom in Tokyo this past weekend. It brings an indescribable sense of calming and shear beautiful when you walk the streets lined with these light pink trees. Viewing parties, hanami, are how the Japanese celebrate the freshly blooming sakura trees. Popular hanami parks in Tokyo consist of Ueno and Yoyogi which are filled with people picnicking and enjoying the sights of spring.
Sakura in Full Bloom
Jamie, Michelle, and I set out for Tokyo this past weekend to start planning the upcoming Scavenger Hunt. We busted through Tokyo finding clues, sponsors, and did a bit of advertising. This seemed to be much easier than the beginning of the last hunt and for that we were patting
ourselves on the back.
Since our morning outing went extremely well we headed to Yoyogi Park for hanami but of course didn’t forget our hunt flyer to pass out to every foreigner around! Nothing like a beer in one hand, hunt flyers in the other, and delicate flowers above to seduce people for our latest event! We meet our friends John and Christy at the park along with joining about 10 others.
The park was filled with blue tarps, picnic lunches and tons of beer, sake and chu-hi! Hanami is basically a time for Japanese to party! From young to old, families to friends, groups to individuals, they were all scattered on the grass for an afternoon of celebration!
The afternoon continued into the night…..We found this lovely chap on the subway system.
The Japanese can honest sleep everywhere and anywhere and their favorite spot is on the train! I just couldn’t resist not taking a photo of his lovely accessories. Japanese men really do make a fashion statement but anymore it seems ridiculously normal. At least there it isn’t ‘slob central’ here like our society is turning into.
After our ongoing Tokyo extravaganza, we found ourselves in Ikebukuro area on Sunday morning. Everyone was in desperate need of Starbucks that morning from our action packed weekend thus far. With caffeine running th rough our veins, we then found the energy to push on with the hunt. We ended up in a park not far from the station and found about 10 small groups of people relaxing under the sakura. I am not kidding with I say that the Japanese really go all out for this time of year! If there is a sakura tree then you will probably find a blue tarp with sitting Japanese and a bottle of sake or Ashai beer to accompany them.
We were snooping around the park and pulled out the camera to take a few shots however, about 2 minutes later a Japanese man came along and invited to join them. We just couldn’t refuse the kind offer. We were treated like true guests when belting out ‘Hello!’ when approaching. Plates of foods was served that included an assortment of Japanese food such as dried salmon, tofu dip, diakon and many more items. Then the wine, sake and whiskey all came out! Although a kind gesture, we just couldn’t stomach much more that a few tastes of the potent liquids. Before leaving we took a few snapshots of the Sunday outing. It is truly little things like these that make daily life turn into experiences that will never be forgotten! I hope that each of you reach out to others, no matter visiting foreigners or Americans, to turn an ordinary experience into something above and beyond!
