So these are all plum trees--ume, (oo-may) in Japanese.
You could buy noodles and stuff, too, from the counter to the left, and hot drinks from the booth in the back. It wasn't too chilly this day, so we were good. (:
click the NEXT button!
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| Gone Hanami-ing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As always, click for bigger pictures!! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Ah, the Japanese and their love of nature. Most of you are probably familiar with what cherry blossom fanatics the Japanese are... But they love checking out many other glorious aspects of nature, too. I kind of missed it, but when autumn rolls around and the Japanese maples turn reds and golds, apparently many people go out to parks and things to appriciate the leaves. The same happens when the plum blossoms bloom in March. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| So my friend Kazuyo invited me to Shuzenji (a small city about 30 minutes out of Numazu) to go see the plum blossoms! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Kazuyo said we were a little late to catch them at their most beautiful, but I didn't mind. The trees were still really lovely. And the smell... oh wow. That was my favorite part. (: I wish I could take pictures of smells.... So these are all plum trees--ume, (oo-may) in Japanese. |
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| They were all different shades of white, pink, and purple. Kind of reminded me of the lilacs I miss back home so much. The trees will bear fruit soon, and the Japanese use them in their rice balls (onigiri). They pickle them to make them SO sour. I don't really care for them... Kazuyo either, hehe. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| It wasn't too crowded, so we had a nice stroll through this park. We came across this little 'rest area' and got some fish-on-a-stick. Ha ha. If you look closely, you can see them cooking around the fire in the center, there. It was pretty tasty! I think Kazuyo said it was aji, but I forget for sure. It was nice and salty. Yum. You should try it. You could buy noodles and stuff, too, from the counter to the left, and hot drinks from the booth in the back. It wasn't too chilly this day, so we were good. (: |
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| I took the wrong memory card this day... so these are the only 5 pictures I was able to take... But they turned out nice! Especially this last one. I wanted a nice close-up of these lovely little blossoms, and I got a great shot. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| So there you are! My very first 'hanami' (flower-viewing) trip! I can't wait for the cherry blossoms (sakura) to bloom... I'm sure they are going to be just amazing. Stay tuned! I'll be sure to get pictures to show you! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| To see the CHERRY TREES (Sakura) click the NEXT button! |
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| You know what to do, Angry Bison! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||