Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Cherry blossom viewing by Miki

HANAMI is "Cherry Blossom Viewing" in English. We had a plan to go to Asukayama Park in Oji. I looked it up on the Internet and read it's history. The eighth Shogun, Tokugawa, ordered that 1,270 cherry trees be planted in the 18th century. This was the Edo Period. Then he opened the park to the common people of Edo. Since then, Asukayama Park is one of the most famous Hanami spots in Edo, or, present day Tokyo. It was my first time to go to Oji town. My husband has been there. We were surprised to see a crowd of people just like Ueno Park. We couldn't find a place to sit down. We saw more people than cherry blossoms. I couldn't believe that Japan has a problem with the declining birth rate. We made a tour of the park. Then we took a  walk along the Shakujii River. It has a cherry tree avenue. There were many people enjoying Hanami there. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom. My husband drank a can of Chuhai while I did a bottle of orange juice with a snack. I'm happy to see the cherry blossoms again this year. The next time I want to take a tramcar called TodenArakawa line from Oji to Waseda.

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