At Flower-See Mountain

This past Sunday I went to my first "hanami" (literally "flower-see", but perhaps better translated as "blossom viewing") of this spring. Hanami is an old Japanese tradition--friends, families, and couples gather in parks and orchards, on mountain tops, along riverbanks, and on castle grounds to take in the spring blossoms, enjoy good company, and consume large quanties of Japanese treats and sake. The Japanese are slightly obsessive about sakura/cherry blossoms, perhaps because the short-lived flowers are rather stunning examples of fleeting life. Anyway, it's hard to imagine a more relaxing and pleasant way to spend a spring afternoon/evening...




Aki, Mika, Lisa and I drove down to Fukushima City and from the station caught a shuttle bus to Hanamiyama Koen (Flower-see-mountain Park), a spacious orchard containing over 60 kinds of flowering trees/plants (including cherry, plum, peach, quince, forsythia, etc). The park is actually private land, but the landowner family keeps the park open to visitors all year.



After buying a surfeit of snacks (rice balls, takoyaki, fried chicken, dango, etc.) we walked up the hill, found a quiet spot under some cherry trees for a picnic, and had a brilliant afternoon. Hope to enjoy several more just like it in the coming weeks...