Hanami Part Deux

As the cherry blossoms started to fade from the bitter cold and unexpected rain showers, this past weekend had beautiful weather so it was our goal to attempt final effort to have a decent hanami. From the crowds I saw, it appeared that half the population of Tokyo felt the same way.

The park we went to, Kinuta Park in Setagaya-ku was crowded but bearable. It also had street stands selling okonomiyaki, soft ice cream cones, and other food you would find at a typical matsuri. Like most places I write about, this was my first time at this place. A lot of people think of Tokyo as a place full of concrete and not enough greenery but there are plenty of beautiful parks that one can get away from the city life and enjoy nature. This park was no exception. I saw many cherry trees. The blossoms were no longer in full bloom, but they were beautiful nonetheless.



Usually at a hanami lots of alcohol is involved. When I arrived to the picnic area, which was around 2ish I would say 80% of the people were already drunk.



The atmosphere though was more family oriented than other places like a hanami at Yoyogi park, so I didn't see anything out of control.



The hanami season is over, but the next event I'm looking forward to is visiting Jim and Akiko in Shizuoka in 2 weeks. We also plan to visit Izu and stay at a ryokan type place. I hope the weather will cooperate.