Day 12 - Sakura in Ueno Park

Posted on June 21, 2008
Filed Under Australia - The land down under, Japan, Holidays, Breaking news, Things that give me inspiration, Photography - All about the photos Baby! |

Our first morning in Tokyo, we set out towards Ueno Park to meet up with Gideon.  We had some time to kill so took a tour of the little side streets around Ueno Station which are filled with markets and little shops. We stocked up on traditional Japanese souvenirs (silk fans) and generally people watched before lunch at the Hard Rock Café. A must for any traveller… find the Hard Rock Café. LOL

 When it was time to meet Gideon, we headed toward Ueno Park and were met with this fella.


The pose he was doing was called “The new Buddha”  as marked on the piece of cardboard beside him. OK, if you say so.

The Cherry trees were in full bloom (we timed our trip this way hoping we’d get Sakura) and all the trees were snowy white, pale pink and occasionally deep pink. Strong gusts of wind blew petals all over the throngs of people below.


 

Sakura is a big deal in Japan. People arrive in the wee hours of the morning to place their tarps under the trees to hold their place for later in the day. Everyone is very respectful and leave empty tarps where they are. People picnic under the trees and some of them dress up!

 

We spent a very long time here, walking through the food markets, (Yes, those are fish on sticks! They are however hot as they sit on burning coals. ‘Fishsicle’ came to mind nonetheless.) checking out the temples and getting some pretty incredible pictures.


Fishsicle

Dinner in Asakusa saw us buying some gorgeous china from a little shop and not buying anything from a shop so packed with stuff I failed to see how to get in!

Not what I bought but cute none-the-less

Where’s the door?

On the way home, Sandy and I marvelled over the Japanese habit of not blowing your nose in public. The guy next to us on the train practically inhaled my jacket sniffling in an effort to keep his nose from running.  I understand that it is very bad manners to blow your nose in public but this is better??

Sandy and I had a moment of hysteria that cause a few stares to come our way when we had a Roger Rabbit argument on the train (that I won by the way).

Me: No, you don’t!
Sandy: Yes, I do!

Me: No, you don’t!

Sandy: Yes, I do!

Me: Yes, you do!

Sandy: No, I don’t! (Confusion set in here – then realization of what had happened. Laughing until your weak is fun.)

Ahhh… to be in a foreign country and immature as babies!

We managed to make it home and treated ourselves to the massage chair in the common room and finally sleep.

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