2008年4月3日木曜日

Sakura Arrives at Tokyo!!

Hola! Right after April Fool's Day here comes THE April Fleur's Day in Tokyo. Typically a week after 4/1 is the week of the wonderful cherry blossom time in this beautiful city. As if intricately timed by a clock, all the cherry trees virtually blossom at the same time, within a short span of several days. Nothing better represents the beauty of Japanese gardening than the ferociously blossoming cherry flowers, particularly when they stun your vision by doing it all together like a full-parkful of syncronized swimmers!!

These pictures were taken in the Shinjuku Central Park right in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building (you can see the city hall in the back of the cherry blossoms). BTW, the city hall, designed by the highly respected architect Tange Kenzo (1913/9/4 - 2005/3/22), smartly projecting the image of traditional Japanese castle while blended with some of the most modern design and styles - a landmark building you must visit in Tokyo. With our office building located at right across steet from the park, we are extremely fortunate to have the immediate and luxerous access to these beautiful plants without the risk of stompping someone's feet in those typically madly crowded weekend hanami (flower watching) parks. Folks in Japan love these cherry blossoms, and they go way out to peek at these flowers. There are flocks of cherry trees in the US, such as Washington D.C., which blooms beautifully as well. But in my view, nothing resembles what you can see in Tokyo!!

1 件のコメント:

arbiter 林明錦 さんのコメント...

Sakura comes to Tokyo not as late as I expected originally. When I visited Japan on Feb, there were lot of snow, at that time, I guess Sakura will come late this year.
At Utah, we still have intermittent snow, but getting warmer every day. I think I can take pictures with my bike on the top of mountain soon; it's another kind of feeling than Sakura.
It has been long time not seeing Sakura, since I moved to Utah. As soon as I finished study here, I will visit with you soon. -arbiter