A Saturday afternoon in Hirosaki

I definitely made good on my promise to take lots of cherry blossom pictures over the weekend!

In fact, I made a photo album of them. (Click here or on the right side to see it.)

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll let the pictures do the talking for now. Here are just a few of my favorite photos from my cherry blossom viewing in Hirosaki, a city about three hours northwest of Kuji...

So. very. gorgeous.

This is the famous Hirosaki "castle" in the background. And yes, I wore pink on purpose. :)

The word "hanami" 花見 in Japanese is the name for an outdoor party/picnic underneath the cherry blossom ("sakura" 櫻) trees. Everywhere we looked, people were sitting on blankets, enjoying food they either brought with them or bought from one of the the many vendors.

Hanami in Hirosaki. :) If this were a painting, I'd call it A Saturday Afternoon at the park in Hirosaki.

The above picture makes me think of a painting I studied last year in my art history course...

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Geourges Seurat
(My professor should be so proud!)

We had our own hanami before the rain began around 3 p.m. Our group of ALTs and Japanese friends kept growing as the afternoon progressed.

From right to left: Hatsumi, Jemma, Mayla, me, Nao, Liz, Lauren

When I lived in Washington, D.C. three years ago, I admired the cherry blossom trees (which were a gift from Japan, by the way). Unfortunately, I was gone for spring break when the blossoms were at their peak. But this weekend in Hirosaki, the cherry blossoms were at their prime, making it the perfect time to go! I've been told that Hirosaki is the second best place in Japan to go for cherry blossom viewing and hanami -- the first being Kyoto.

We spent seven hours in Hirosaki, taking it easy and enjoying the lovely scenery. Despite the drizzling rain, it was a very nice time.