Ume Viewing
It's almost spring time in Japan so what do the Japanese do? Cherry blossom viewing, of course! I recently accepted an invitation from Hashimoto-san (a lovely Japanese lady who has befriended me) to visit the neighbouring prefecture of Shizuoka-ken to do just that. We joined a bus tour and made our way to our destination via Hakone Mountain. Just west of Yokohama, Hakone is best known for its beautiful scenery and endless offering of onsens (hot springs), so you can imagine just how amazing the scenery was.
Our first stop-off was at Atami for the "Atami Ume Matsuri" (Atami Plum Blossom Festival). Although Andrew and I don't think much of the "ume" itself (it's a popular food among the Japanese but disliked by many of us gaijin because of its extremely sour taste and soggy texture), its blossoms were breathtaking. And just like any other Japanese hot-spot, this place was packed with locals and of course, the obligatory stores selling various Japanese snacks and souveniers. Twenty photos later, we were all hearded back onto the bus for our next destination, Izu.
In Japan they seem to have a festival for everything, so it came as no surprise to me when I was told about the "Ohina Sama Matsuri" or the "Girls' Doll Festival". Celebrated on the 3rd of March, Ohina Sama Matsuri is a festival to pray for the happiness of girls. People who have a girl in their family decorate beautiful dolls that are displayed on a mini stage covered in a red cloth. Izu, however, also have what is known as "Tsurushi-kazari" which is a hanging doll decoration. Each hand made doll is unique and represents something different such as luck, health and happiness. Of course being the craft freak I am, I made my own expensive purchase of one of these decorations.
Our next and final stop was Kawazu, about 1 hour south of Izu. Lined along a local river near the Kawazu train station were the famous Japanese Cherry Blossom trees ("Sakura"). Although not all in full bloom, the amazing blossoms were definitely something to oohh and ahh about - even for the locals! I now can understand why people flock from all around Japan to see these trees - these delicate pink beauties are a contrast to the bare trees we've seen all during winter and it's also a signal that spring (and warmer weather!) is fast approaching.
After almost missing the bus (Hashimoto-san and I were stuck waiting in line to use the toilet at the local con-bini), I decided to catch a few zzzzzs for the long bus ride home. Just as I closed my eyes, I heard the TV come on and then, yes, you guessed it, on came Karaoke. What can I say - only in Japan! After the oldies batted out a couple of godawful Japanese tunes I had never heard of before (probably because they were released before I was born), I went back to sleep before arriving home 5 hours later. You see, because the bus was full of oldies (I was the youngest person on board by at least 20 years), we made about 4 toilet stops along the way - hmmm, it certainly was an experience!
