Japan [Day 5] - Visiting Family in Ibaraki-ken

Off to the countryside to visit family. It was nice to head out of Tokyo for a while...starting to feel a little claustrophobic. It was about a 2-hour train ride to Yuki-shi, Ibaraki-ken. On a side note, I love the vending machines in Japan. You can get both hot and cold drinks. These machines are everywhere...even in the most random spots.


For a lot of folks here, they spend a lot of time riding the train. I saw the blank stare of this guy and thought it pretty much summed up what it would feel like to have to take a long train ride everyday.

We attended a nice memorial service (hoji) for Ami's grandfather. They were nice enough to let me take pictures during the service.



Then we visited the family gravesite to offer incense ... while trying not to start a fire.




After the service, we had a family lunch at a local restaurant, kaiseki style.

Japan [Day 4] - Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)

The sun has finally started to come out, so we decided to check out some popular cherry blossom sites. I love how everything is accessible via train. The first place we checked out was Chidorigafuchi. As soon as we stepped off the train, cherry blossoms were blooming all over the city.


On the way to the sakura location, we stopped by Yasukuni Jinja (shrine) to check out the architecture and scenery. The sky was clear and blue, so it made a nice backdrop for the jinja.

The cherry blossoms at Chidorigafuchi literally drape over an old moat, which makes for a beautiful scene. You could actually rent a boat and sail around the moat to get a closer view of the cherry blossoms.





For the afternoon, we decided to go to Ueno, so Ami, her mom, and aunt could do some shopping. It was my perfect excuse to explore the city on my own. Ueno also had a famous cherry blossom setup. In true Japan form, it was very crowded there.
The cherry blossoms lined either end of the sidewalk, creating a canopy.


Along the sidewalks, the locals were camped out with blankets, chairs, alcohol, food etc... At night they light up the cherry blossoms, and, basically, it turns into one big party. Supposedly, new hires at companies are sent to the park to reserve spots during the day so that their co-workers can come by after work to kick off the party.

On the other side of the park, vendors were lined up all around the temple. They were selling some pretty tasty stuff and other items not-so-appealing.


From Ueno Park, this is a shot of the city landscape. Unfortunately, the lake was littered with empty bottles and tons of trash. I tried to find the least cluttered spot to get a shot.

There were some pretty impressive cameras out there today. Everyone was taking pictures, and lots of hardcore photography types were out in full camera gear. This is Japan, so even the non-photographer was at least armed with a camera-equipped phone. Every five feet, I would bump into someone trying to shoot a photo using their phone.


Here are some close-up views of what sakuras really look like.