So, Monday evening after sunset I decided to go down to the middle of Monzennakacho, down by one of the canal/rivers that run through town, to see what the illuminated cherry trees looked like. It was really cold, about 42 degrees with a steady wind making it feel like the 30s, but I layered up and walked down. For a stretch of one of the rivers, there were lanterns hung in the trees on both sides of the river, and a dock where brave evening tourists could ride an open tour boat along the shore. I took the landlubber route, and just walked the 3 or so blocks that were lit. The trees were still not 100% full, in fact there were quite a few that were still in the bud stage, so there’s still time once it warms up to go see them later this week or maybe the weekend. I also plan to go to the more touristy places over the weekend and early next week, if the blossoms hold up. I may have to head to other places as well, where blooming is taking longer.
So Sunday was a nice day, relatively speaking, as it wasn’t bad temperature-wise, it almost made it to 60 degrees, and the sun was shining. Towards the afternoon, though, the wind picked up and started to have a wind chill, a prelude to an ugly week. But I did manage to see a few cherry trees blooming, and found a neat little thing for kids along the way.
So, the cherry trees I found in Etchujima Park, along the bank of the Sumida river south of my apartment were mostly full.
There was a short section of the trail along the river where they had an area set aside for kids. What was neat about it was that it was a place where kids could learn street and traffic signals, safely and without interfering with actual traffic! The section had painted crosswalks, and working, timed stop lights and walk-don’t walk signals, but smaller than the real thing, and made lower to the ground so little kids could see them. I thought that was a really neat idea, I think it would be good for kids in the US to learn on! It was also helpful that kids were learning how to ride their bikes on the same trail, and they could learn to be responsible drivers, too!
I didn’t get many more pictures, as I met a couple and their son, tourists from California, and talked with them for a while. We talked about what they planned on the trip, and I gave them some (hopefully) helpful things that I’ve learned about being a tourist in Japan. It started to get cold, and I didn’t want to keep them, they weren’t really dressed for it, and I needed to get to the drug store to get some soap and laundry detergent. I did manage to see a few more neat things before it got too cold to hold a camera for long. In hindsight I wish I’d gotten an earlier start.
Well, in 8 days I’ll be boarding my flight to Japan. This will be my longest solo venture since I drove across a big chunk of the US back in 2003 (you can see my blog entries from back then in Nerdtour 2003, if I did the pages right).
I’m a little anxious about it, as usual, but also I’m looking forward to it, I’ll be checking a lot of things off my bucket list, at least the international one. I have a lot of things left to see in the US, which I’ll start on once I get back. Well, after resting up and letting my bank account cool off for a while!
Okay, this is going to be a short one, although today was eventful and productive, I’m about out of energy for the day, and the bed in my new hotel room in Tsukiji is inviting.
I checked out of the hotel in Narita early this morning, and after a very small breakfast at Mr Donut down the road, I set off to find the Naritasan Temple complex and “Peace Park”. When I got there I was disappointed to find that my camera had gotten damaged sometime earlier, not sure where during the trip. Somehow a couple of camera batteries had slipped down beneath the camera, and the live-view screen got cracked when the camera bag was set down or banged around on one of the flights. Fortunately the camera still works fine, the part that cracked was a protective screen to help keep the body of the camera waterproof. It will still need to be fixed though.
At any rate, I managed to get quite a few nice pictures of the temple, including a few of the first cherry trees blooming in Narita. The season just started, and they won’t be in full bloom in Narita until I’m ready to leave. I will be staying the night at Narita before I leave, so I might just get a chance.
After I saw the temple and park grounds, I grabbed lunch at a small shop that was serving barbecued eel, unagi. I had never had it before, but it was good, especially since I was hungry!
Finally I got my suitcase from the hotel and set off by train to the hotel in Tsukiji, not far from the famous fish market. The room is the smallest I’ve had of all the hotels I’ve stayed at, it’s so small I have to step outside to change my mind!
At any rate, here are a few pictures from Narita. Enjoy!
So, once again I prepare to depart for the Land of the Rising Sun, where the cherry blossoms (sakura) are in bloom! Â This will be a relatively short trip, only two weeks, but the goal is to take as many pictures of cherry trees in bloom in as many iconic Japanese places as possible, given the short time they bloom. Â Plus since the Tidal Basin here in DC is full of cherry trees from Japan that are now also in bloom, I hope to take pictures of them before go, too!
Blogging may be spotty, but I’ll try to at least post something each day.
Doing my usual late-night Youtube surfing, I came across several videos featuring a Japanese light-rock band named “Ikimonogakari.” The first song I heard was a live version of one of their songs, “Kaze ga fuite iru” (風ãŒå¹ã„ã¦ã„ã‚‹, “Wind is Blowing”), which opened with the lead singer spotlighted, and the members of the band joining in, before going into a full stage performance. The style of music was very light rock, kind of late-60’s or early 70’s pop, but the lead singer, Kiyoe Yoshioka, really brought a lot of energy and heart into the song. Her voice and range was so impressive I had to look for more performances by them.
This one that I found is a perfect example song for the band, which is really only the three, Yoshiki Mizuno on bass and Hotaka Yamashita on guitar and harmonica. THe song is “Sakura”, their first single, and even though this version goes into full orchestral mode, the beginning with only the three in the spotlight really shows their ability, especially Yoshioka-san’s impressive vocal range. I’ll be keeping an eye out for their CDs whenever I can!
楽ã—ã‚“ã§ã€ãã ã•ã„ï¼
(Enjoy!)
Update:
Thank you Sony Entertainment, for blocking this video from being shown in the US. (tch)
Well, after walking and walking and walking, I made it to the end of the parade route, where I was able to finally cross Constitution Avenue to the side where the matsuri was taking place. Then it was another 4 block or so walk to get to the nearest entrance to the matsuri, where I stopped to rest for a few minutes. I decided to pace myself after looking in on the huge crowds of people milling about (or trying to!) inside the matsuri fence, because there would be no sitting inside! I managed to spend about 4 hours there, got to see some interesting booths, inflicted my Japanese on some poor folks, and basically had fun. I saw a very high-energy J-Pop band called “M’sh”, and watched some friends perform in a cosplay “fashion show”. After that was over I decided it was time to start the long walk back to my car in the Potomac Park, so I headed back to the Tidal Basin, taking a few more photos along the way. I did stop at the Jefferson Memorial to buy a soft drink and take another short rest, but since I was so close to the car I figured it would be better to keep going. Finally I got to my car at about 5 PM, after starting at 8:30, drove home, unloaded my SD card, and promptly went to sleep!
So, one week later I managed to upload some more photos here! As always, click to see the full-size photo!
Enjoy!
[one_third]There were a few people at the matsuri…[/one_third]
[one_third]… just a few…[/one_third]
[one_third_last]… thousand…[/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third]And you thought DC *traffic* gridlock was bad…[/one_third]
[one_third_last]Dancers performing a traditional Hokkaido fisherman’s dance[/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last]DC Japan Model Railroad Club[/one_third_last]
[one_third]Some cosplay friends at the NHKWorld booth[/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third]A couple of Cherry Blossom Queen candidates[/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third]I have a bag, it’s a pink bag, others may have other bags, but this one is mine. Any questions?[/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third]M’sh![/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third]Rock Guitarist Face #1[/one_third]
[one_third_last]Rock Guitarist face #2[/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third]ValNika vlogs![/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third_last][/one_third_last]
[one_third][/one_third]
[one_third]Chillin’ at the Tidal Basin…[/one_third]
[one_third_last]It was… a little crowded…[/one_third_last]
So, the last of the cherry blossoms are dropping their petals, and the primary colors are turning from pink and white to green, after a seemingly endless Winter. Here are photos I took during my walk from the Tidal Basin to the DC Sakura Matsuri (street festival) on Saturday.
I’ll have photos from the matsuri itself in a later post.
