Sakura already falling

Wednesday I was biking to my gym yoga class and admiring the sakura in full bloom along the Kanda River between Nakano Sakaue and Higashi Nakano. After class, I noticed that the warm weather and wind was starting a “snowfall” of petals along the path and in the river. How quickly sakura ends.

The photo above is from Zenpujiki River, near the in-laws’ ceramic studio. Rivers are perfect settings for sakura. Hanami at the narrow park along this river in Suginami is more neighborly and less crazed than more celebrated parks. Below is a night image from central Nakano, where many old cherry trees line Nakano Dori. The lighting is supplied by local institution, Don Ki (the nickname for low-priced emporium Don Quijote). And you can see the moon in the upper right corner.

After a few more days, cherry blossom season will be over.

Cherry blossoms peaking

This weekend is officially peak hanami, or cherry blossom viewing. The husband and I visited famous Inokashira Koen in Kichijoji on Friday afternoon. The trees were beautiful, particularly how the old branches extend over the pond.

Since it was still a weekday, the park was full but not as crazy as it will be over the weekend. There were many blue sheets laid out for picnic-drinking parties, with just a few early birds saving spots for their friends. We saw many over-the-top outfits on people of all ages. And a remarkably genki-looking man told us about his 6 years war experience in Myanmar and his love for bananas and pineapples; turns out he’s 91.

Neighbors’ cherry trees

The heavy rains ended sakura season. However, other cherry varities are busting out in bloom. These are two trees adjacent to our apartment building.

Pink snow: sakura update

The cherry blossom season (さくら) is peaking, with the petals now blowing off the trees with the wind and forming what looks like pink snow on the ground. In a few more days, 2008 sakura will be over. My forecast is that there will be a lot of public outdoor drinking this weekend (はなみ).

More sakura

Cherry blossom madness

This weekend was peak cherry blossom viewing. Here’s a snap from Shinjuku Park, where there must have been a million revelers on Saturday.

Two views of cherry blossoms

Cherry blossoms (さくら）are reaching peak season in Tokyo, and Japanese are crazy about viewing them (はなみ). I love how the seasonal spirit ranges from gorgeous, well-pruned specimens to cheap, plastic decorations in some of the less sightly parts of Nakano.

In front of the Imperial Palace (こうきょ):

Besides the power lines near Nakano Broadway:

Sakura season

We are lucky to arrive at the start of cherry blossom season, called “sakura.” Beautifully pruned trees across the city explode in blush pink petals, inspiring teens, families, co-workers, and seniors to picnic below them, and to get very drunk.

Near the Nakano train station, there are big pink lanterns. And in the main shopping arcade called Broadway, there’s this gorgeous seasonal display in the photo. The arcade was constructed in the 1970s, and it is preserved completely intact. This is common for this area, which has not seen the redevelopment that has transformed other parts of Tokyo into more of a futuristic environment.