Went to Rikugien Gardens over the weekend!

The weather was really nice and the flowers were beautiful.
I was hoping to see the yukitsuri, but unfortunately they'd already been taken down.
We bought some bikes recently so we decided to ride them to the park.
It's been really nice to get a bit of a leg workout in instead of riding trains all the time.
It was only about 25-30 minutes too and we were able to avoid all of the packed trains and get some fresh air.

I was pretty happy that we got to see the popular view from the top of the hill 3rd photo.
I've seen many photos of it before and finally was able to see it for myself.

I never knew that the park had turtles in the pond either, so that was pretty cool to see.
There were a bunch swimming all over the pond, sitting on rocks, etc.

We managed to spot a crane as well, but it was in a spot were we couldn't really take a good photo of it so I decided to pass and just admire it without a photo.

We stopped for a short break at one of the small cafes inside the park and got a quick snack.
I'm not a fan of manju, but my girlfriend likes them so she got a coffee and one sakura manju.
She seemed to like it, but decided to take off the flower from the top as she didn't want to eat the petals.
The melon soda float was nice too.
Definitely a nice place to visit and hoping to visit again in the fall to see the leaves after they've changed color.

山北駅の桜並木を疾走するロマンスカーの光跡を撮影

神奈川県久里浜花の国のネモフィラです。朝陽で夜露が輝いていました。

あしかがフラワーパーク
「うす紅橋」藤の花夜間ライトアップ
日本。栃木県。足利市。

市民の憩いの場所、里山の趣が残る公園です。レンゲ（ゲンゲ）畑が満開となるこの時期は沢山のミツバチが飛び回っています。いつまでも残したい日本の懐かしい風景です。

市民の憩いの場所、里山の趣が残る公園です。レンゲ（ゲンゲ）畑が満開となるこの時期は沢山のミツバチが飛び回っています。いつまでも残したい日本の懐かしい風景です。

あしかがフラワーパーク
「大長藤」夜間ライトアップ
日本。栃木県。足利市。
2022.04.20

あしかがフラワーパーク
「うす紅の棚」夜間ライトアップ
日本。栃木県。足利市。
2022.04.20

横浜にあるガンダムファクトリー

横浜の夜景をバックに撮影しました

茨城県ひたちなか市にあるひたちなか海浜公園のネモフィラ畑

小高い丘にネモフィラが一面に広がっていて、すごくインスタ映えするスポットです。今では全国にもネモフィラ畑がありますが、ここは先駆けで、しかも一番面積が広いです。

日本の象徴とも言える、東京の春
思わずシャッターを切ってしまった、春色の渋谷の街
ピンク色に染まる都会が奏でた自然は、今も見ていて美しい

撮影場所: 東京都 渋谷区 渋谷 桜坂

東京都新宿区にある新宿御苑内で撮影したものです。
茶屋の横にあった八重桜が浮き立って奇麗でした。

Found a nice izakaya in Kanda today.
The name is Kakuuchi Inagaki 角打 いながき. I think that's the reading for the kanji at least...
The place had a really nice atmosphere and some really good food at very reasonable prices.
I ordered the Saba no Shioyaki さばの塩焼き, salt grilled mackerel and it was really tasty and only cost 750 yen as well.
Definitely a nice place to drop by for some after work drinks with a friend or coworker or just for lunch like I did.

It seems like they serve nikomi and oden later at night as well, so if you like that I definitely recommend it.

[Englsh／日本語]
Hachioji City, where our school is located, is a city with a rich history. Here you can experience various traditional cultures. 2 students are holding "Kuruma Dolls". School events also offer experiences that expose students to the culture of Hachioji as well as Japan.
本校がある八王子市は歴史のある街です。ここではいろいろな伝統文化を体験することができます。2人の学生が持っているのは「車人形」です。学校行事では日本だけではなく八王子の文化に触れる体験も行っています。

Was nice weather over the weekend so I did a little exploring.

Found this nice little temple near the Sumida River called Hozoin Temple 寳蔵院 in Arakawa.
I wasn't sure where exactly I was allowed to go inside the temple, and I didn't have much time anyways, so I just took a peak through the gates and snapped a photo.
It was a really quaint place and apparently it has some landscape paintings and itabi tablets.
From what I saw, it looked like there was a garden across the ground.
Maybe a rock garden or something of the sort, I wasn't able to get a good look at it though.
The area around the temple was the hunting grounds of the Tokugawa Shogunate as well it seems.
Pretty amazing to imagine there was enough greenery in the area to hunt in the past.

Also managed to stop by a nice udon/soba restaurant for lunch.
It was called Sunaba 砂場 I believe.
I ordered the kamo duck nanban udon and it tasted great.
Haven't had duck in a while, but it's always a treat.
The lady taking orders was really nice as well.
Overall a great place!

千葉県にあるあけぼの山農業公園です。

【English／日本語】
These are cherry blossoms at Shinshoin, a temple in Nishi-Hachioji. This temple was opened by the daughter of the famous warlord "Shingen Takeda". Unlike ordinary temples, it is very gorgeous with feminine decorations. Our school goes to visit it once a year. Before the visit, students learn in class about the tragic love story for which this temple was built. There are many historical buildings near the school. It can be said that Nishi-Hachioji is a very good environment for studying Japanese language.

西八王子にあるお寺「信松院」の桜です。このお寺は有名な武将である『武田信玄の娘』が開きました。普通のお寺とは違い、女性らしさを感じる装飾があり、とても華やかです。本校では1年に1回見学に行きます。見学の前に学生たちは授業でこの寺が建てられた悲恋の物語を学びます。学校の近くには歴史的な建物がたくさんあります。西八王子は日本語を学ぶ環境としてとても優れていると言えます。

Decided to go back to Gyoda again this weekend.

We had such a good time last time we went we decided we wanted to check out the cherry blossoms this spring. Managed to visit some really nice places.

We originally wanted to use the rental bicycles that they have in front of the station but we got there past noon and all of them were taken unfortunately.
Fortunately for us, it ended up getting a bit colder later on so it actually worked out.

We got lucky as there was a really convenient sightseeing bus that rolled through the station to all of the major places in the city every 45 minutes or so.

We checked out the cherry blossoms at Gyoda Castle and they had the Hanachozu 花手水, pots of flowers floating in water. We were able to see a few of these throughout the city which was nice.
They also had traditional umbrellas on display in a few areas around the castle which was really pretty.

After Gyoda Castle we visited the Sakitama Burial Mounds which had some really beautiful views of the cherry blossoms.
There was also a flock of herons flying around the area but I wasn't able to get a very good photo of any of them.
Luckily we got some great photos of the cherry blossoms and the main mound and had a really enjoyable time.

We also stopped by Suijo Park and there were some food stalls in the area, but we got there when everything was just about closed so we only got to see a few of the vendors.
We managed to get a really tasty lemonade and a latte though. Both tasted really good.
Surprisingly there were a lot of cosplayers at the park.
We probably saw like 20-30 people cosplaying using the bridges and cherry blossoms in the area.

On the way back to the station we managed saw this river during the bus ride and so we backtracked a little bit after getting to the station about 5 minutes walking and got to enjoy some really phenomenal views of the cherry blossoms along the river.
There were hardly any people there as well, surprisingly.

Overall it was a really awesome time!

歴博の窓から望む屏風桜

小田原城にて
天守と桜とヒヨドリ

目白庭園での一枚
夕暮れの水面にリフレクション

桜のフレームからスカイツリーをのぞく
隅田川に停車していた水上バスも桜色でした
場所:隅田公園

千葉県立房総のむら
今年も桜が満開です

成田の宗吾霊堂は静かな桜の名所

It's finally starting to feel like spring.
Loving the cherry blossoms around Tokyo already, it just needs to get a bit warmer.
Temperature feels a lot more up and down this year, but maybe it's just my imagination.

Hoping I can get out this weekend and enjoy some more views outside of Tokyo.
I'm not sure how much the cherry blossoms have bloomed in Saitama, but I enjoyed seeing all the photos and videos of the Kawazu Cherry Blossom Festival.

It's a bit too far/expensive for a day trip 6 hours on a train doesn't sound fun, but it'd be nice to see them one day.
From my knowledge, the cherry blossoms tend to stay in bloom longer there so it'd be nice to see them eventually.
Either way, I'm just happy spring is finally here!

東京スカイツリー

さいたま市の自宅から、真っ赤な“天使のはしご”に遭遇しました。

千葉県御宿町の月の沙漠記念像
夜明け直前の撮影
早朝に人目につかないよう旅立つ二人をイメージ

[English／日本語]
The day before yesterday, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced that cherry blossoms had bloomed in Tokyo. In Japan, the weather forecast at this time of the year tells not only the temperature and weather, but also the cherry blossoms. Hanami, a traditional Japanese event, began 1,300 years ago and is popular among foreign tourists. In this issue, we will introduce the etiquette of Hanami.

1 The star of the show is the cherry blossoms
Cherry blossom viewing means eating and drinking under the cherry trees. Cherry trees are very delicate plants. When eating, do not place a sheet at the base of the cherry tree. The base of the cherry tree is where it breathes. Please place the sheet away from it. Also, do not break the branches of cherry trees just because of their beautiful blossoms. Cherry blossoms are a plant that easily decomposes. You may also have to pay a fine for "damage to property" if you break a cherry blossom branch. Please be careful.

2 Rules of the park
During the holidays at this time of year, the number of people viewing cherry blossoms in the park increases greatly. Some of them are also lit up at night, making them popular date spots. Each park has different rules, so be sure to check the park's rules before going hanami. For example, some parks prohibit the bringing of alcoholic beverages, while others do not allow the use of fire. Also, be sure to take your trash home with you and clean up properly before you finish your hanami. Even though it is spring, the nights can get very cold, so be sure to take warm clothing.

3Cherry blossom motif goods
Cherry blossom viewing is not limited to parks. During this season, you can see many cherry blossom-inspired decorations in the city and in stores. At cafes, you can enjoy cherry blossom latte art and pink-colored cakes. At general stores, you can find products with pictures of cherry blossoms. Since they are only available during this season, they are popular as souvenirs. Please look for them!

Hachioji, where our school is located, has many famous cherry blossom viewing spots. Some parks are lit up at night, so be sure to visit them!

東京は一昨日、桜が開花したと気象庁が発表しました。日本ではこの時期の天気予報は気温や天気だけではなく、桜の様子を伝えます。日本の伝統的なイベントである「お花見」は1300年前から始まり、外国人観光客からも人気があります。今回はお花見のマナーを紹介します。

①主役は桜
お花見と言えば、桜の木の下で食事をしたりお酒を飲んだりすることをさします。桜はとてもデリケートな植物です。食事をするときは桜の根本にシートを置かないようにしましょう。桜の根元は呼吸をする場所です。離れたところにシートを敷いてください。また、桜の花が美しいからと言って枝を折ってはいけません。桜は腐りやすい植物です。また、桜の枝を折ると「器物破損罪」として罰金を払わなければならないこともあります。気を付けましょう。

②公園のルール
この時期の休日は公園でお花見している人がとても増えます。また、夜になるとライトアップをしているところもあり、デートスポットとしても人気があります。公園によってルールが違うので、お花見をする前には必ず公園のルールを調べてからにしましょう。例えば、お酒の持ち込みを禁止しているところや火を使ってはいけないところもあります。また、ゴミはきちんと持ち帰えり、きちんとそうじをしてからお花見を終えましょう。春と言っても夜はとても冷えるので、防寒対策も忘れずに。

③桜モチーフのグッズ
お花見は公園だけではありません。この季節は街の中やお店の中にも桜をイメージした飾りを多くみることができます。カフェでは桜のラテアートやピンク色をしたケーキなどを食べることができます。雑貨屋では、桜の絵が描いた商品がお店に並びます。この季節限定なので、お土産としても人気があります。ぜひ、探してみてくださいね。

本校がある八王子は桜の名所が多くあります。夜、ライトアップしている公園もあるのでぜひ訪れてみてくださいね！

日本百名城・佐倉城
佐倉城址公園の桜