Omiya Bonsai

Just a little side quest on our way to Oyama back at the end of May: a stop in Omiya to see the bonsai.  

Bonsai are just so cool and seeing trees that were hundreds of years old was amazing. We've seen some in Australia, but these were next level. Inside they had a huge section of flowering azaleas which were cool too, though we weren't allowed to take photos of those. 

Something that we read while we were there was that bonsai that were several trees in one small pot were ment to look like a huge forest when viewed from a certain angle. Steve took this shot of one when we were there and I can really see it. Hard to believe that these trees are only 40cm tall. 

This last one was at a smaller (more cramped) bonsai store/nursery. My bonsai sensei in Australia, Ben, suggested stripping the bark on my juniper bonsai last year and I wasn't sure, but I think I'm much more convinced now, after seeing these. 

Bonsai yo!