Cherry blossoms are falling off their trees now, giving way to the green new life coming through, but while they bloomed, they sure were beautiful.
Since the blossoms only last about two weeks on the trees, Japanese people tend to make the most of this time of year (especially as the cold of winter starts to give way to warmer spring days) by celebrating with picnics. Hanami is a picnic that is specifically done where you can view the flowers (usually cherry blossoms).
We were lucky enough to be invited to a hanami picnic with another family who live in the area and they took us to a huge park by the water on the edge of Tokyo. It was loads of fun, and our girls had a good time making friends and playing with the other Japanese kids.
Rachel tried the typical tri-colour dango for the first time, which was delicious. These are mochi (pounded rice balls) on a stick. They vaguely have sakura, plain and macha flavour, but mostly they just have the colours and all tasted about the same. You can only get these around this time of year (March for girls day (hinamatsuri) and then in April for the sakura).
Sophie tried some umeboshi - sour pickled plum - which did not have the same reaction. Rachel tried the umeboshi as well, but the first time just swallowed it whole (seed and all) and second time took a bite and then forgot the seed and swallowed all of it again. So funny. We had to explain to Sophie that getting foreigners to try umeboshi is like when people come to Australia and we insist they try Vegemite, knowing full well it's an unusual and generally acquired taste. She did not approve.
Steve took the girls on the big ferris wheel in the park, and got some views of the sakura, Tokyo city, as well as out over the bay towards Chiba, where you can see the Disney parks.
It was a really fun day, and such a quintessential Japanese thing that I'm glad we got to experience it. I've been taking photos of all the sakura lined streets in the neighbourhood, but nothing really compares to seeing them in real life. Soon they will be all over though and everyone who is sick of hearing about them can relax.
