hanami

I recently excurded solo to Tokyo for hanami (flower watching).


Flower watching - usually sakura, or cherry blossoms - is a serious spectator sport in Japan. Families will eat picnic lunches under cherry trees, sometimes lingering long into the evening and talking over beer and cigarettes. Since Japan is a very vertical country, some people even take month-long trips, starting in the south and driving north, to follow the sakura blossoming. Hardcore.

These pictures are from Ueno park. I was really impressed with how the lantern (?)...indwelt.... the tree behind it in this picture. The branches are just where the artist went a little crazy, or where he gave his sculpture an organic halo.

Homeless people inhabit the green and blue shelters in the background. Interestingly, even people at this level of society line their shoes neatly outside their shelters.