The Spring Blossoms [ GX7 ]

Today's post will be a simple one, just a collection of pictures I took around the Shin Matsudo area (thanks for finding the spot, D), and near my apartment.




It's mid April now, so the prime sakura viewing season is just ending, but I did get a chance to head out and enjoy the yearly hanami (花見 - flower watching) with some good people I know.




The past few years I've been out to see the sakura - cherry blossoms - and the beautiful blooms in early spring, but this was the first time I'd done a real hanami in a park in a long time, having beers and good food under the cherry blossom treas. It was a lot of fun, even if I did spend not so much time there.




You see a lot of interesting flowers blooming around this time of year in Japan, like this awesome pink one that I think is a Japanese hanamomo, or hana peach.




Another peach blossom here. They seem very frail when you look at them up close, very delicate like the petals could come off just by brushing them away.




My friend took me down to the river here near Shin Matsudo station. I used to hang out in this area a lot back when I worked for an English language school there. It was nice to head down close to the water and have a few beers after a long day shilling language skills to salarymen and housewives. Of course, watch out for the centipedes that used to spring up out of nowhere if you sat by the river for more than a minute. Ick. But very peaceful.




I've been to this area quite a few times but I'd never seen this particular patch of river before. Well, maybe I did, but I wasn't here at the right time to notice anything special.

Japan and especially the Tokyo metro area may be a very modern place with a lot of dull grey landscapes and concrete, but even in the plowed-over, built-up world you can still find gems like these. I guess that's the point of this blog in many ways (besides showing Japanese TV commercials) - it gives me a chance to show the other side of Japan.

I hope the new year is going well for everyone so far. In Japan school and work usually starts in April, so the end of year/new year season is just ending now. It's full of farewells and meeting new people, and is always a somewhat sad but enjoyable time. But with all the chaos around it's nice to be able to step back and see the world changing around as well, moving out of winter into spring, always the same every year but a little different.