Yes, it's that time of the year where the sakura trees (cherry blossom) are in full bloom and the night time air is starting to get a bit humid. It's also the time when people have their Hanami festivals :boobies2 This is a traditional; time which doesn't really have a fixed date as such, just when ever the sakura trees are in full bloom. People gather together under the trees to drink, eat and have a great time. I went to one of the more popular places in the grounds of Kokura Castle in Kita Kyushu which is only a 30 minute train journey away from my home. We all had a great time and I even managed to grab a few beer for my ride home Here's a few shots I took before the phones battery died :-( I knew I should have charged it. Please note that it was quite dark and that my phone camera has a shitty flash. This African guy was playing the bongo drums. Pretty good too ! This shot was taken early in the evening. You can see a few people sitting under the trees. By 9pm this area was full. This is the view from outside the castle walls. You can see the castle to the right of the picture. Finally a big Sakura Tree Yakumo
really marvellous. i guess there's no cherry blossoms in august by the way, yakumo, if you could give me some suggestion for my travel i would treasure them. (i have a topic for that) ps from wich city are you from?
Sorry, sakura trees only stay in bloom for a few weeks at most. They'll be all gone by next week I'd say. I'm not very good at giving traveling ideas to people. Probably everything I tell you is the same that you've read in a book. I will say that if you want to take an Onsen (Hot spring/Spa) then the best ones are all in Kyushu. Places such as Yufuin, Bepu (Oita) and Kurukawa are all very nice. Hokaido probably has the best views with Yamaguchi being next. I live in Shimonoseki which is in the Yamaguchi prefecture at the very bottom of Honshu (main part of Japan as I call it). Yakumo
Flavor Flav is a hero among men. I'm currently in the final stages of the selection process for a study abroad session in Japan next year. The term goes from October to March, and from the sounds of it, I'd be on my way back here at the start of April, which is rather disappointing. I'd be able to catch the New Year's celebrations, but I would have loved to see a hanami festival as well. Of course, this is all dependent on my being selected...
is there one of the people running around barefeet ? 2 days ago we had 3° C here in germany and no cherry stuff in sight for weeks =)
GSL: New Years is pretty weak in Japan if you don't have family. Even if you do, you generally just sit around and eat loads of food, much like Thanksgiving or Xmas here. There is some liveliness at the shrines, and the girls get out their nice kimonos, but that's a novelty for like an hour or two at most.
Fukuoka is my next destination whenever I get back Nihon's Dirty Souf (lol) It used to be my sister city.
hahaha That is him too :smt043 It looks like but she probably had some sort of shoes on. The ground has too many sharp items on it to be walking around bare footed. She could have been pissed though :drinkers: Yakumo
