Pages of Mariskova

Whoa… the spring has come, the sun almost shines to the fullest, the weather is warmer, and the flowers are blooming.
When the spring comes, the one and only thing that people here are looking forward to is the blooming of the Sakura.


the famous S A K U R A




The full bloom of Cherry Blossom (sakura is a kind of cherry tree) only happens a week after the opening of the first blossoms. After that, a week later, the blooming peak is over and the blossoms are falling from the trees… Yeah right. These flowers don’t even linger for more than 10 days! People here wait for a year just to see these flowers bloom in 10 days only!

So, didn’t want to miss the opportunity of seeing the flowers and on Thursday, 7 April 05, we went to Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo for Hanami (Hana= flower, Mi=see from Miru… wow, my Japanese is getting better!). Besides, we only have two chances of seeing them: this year and hopefully next year… and that’s it!




A map of the garden. Didn't really helpful, though: I didn't manage to understand:(


Why did I go so far to Tokyo? Well, Shinjuku Gyoen is one of the most popular Hanami spots in Japan. It’s also one of the nearest. What’s more, we were not being able to view the flowers in Honjo for a couple of reasons like they were not blooming yet in Honjo (guess why) and Honjo doesn’t really have a spectacular cherry blossom spot. I will however find the perfect spot to view Honjo sakura tree! Don’t worry! That story comes later. It’s already in the agenda:)

Anyway, the trip was……. GREAT! Not to mention the Sakura flowers themselves! They are magnificent! And the garden is superb! It’s big and beautiful and has a lot of collections.

The collection is the flowers! Not the person mati gaya in front of them.




Hikari really loved to run around in the garden (to help you: imagine Bogor Botanical Garden, don’t forget to plant a lot of sakura trees in BBG, you’re almost there!) and played at the pond full of big golden fish and Koi…







We didn’t bring a mattress to sit under the shade of the trees like what people do, but it didn’t matter: the grass is green and thick.



When I tried to figure out the significance of cherry blossom in Japan, I think, the blooming of the flowers brings out the spirit of a new hope and joy because it represents a new season has come: a warmer season which is a lot more comfortable to live in, which has more colors on the view, and has everything that replaces the cold harsh winter before. Well, at least, that’s what I feel.









After spending 3 hours in the garden, we hurried up to catch the bus to Honjo. The bus was in Tokyo Waseda university. It’s free and it’s comfortable. Some facility! Before getting into the bus, we took a picture in front of a plane prototype made by Waseda students.



At 6 PM, we were back in Honjo Waseda campus, missed the bus to our apato, walked from campus to our apato (now count: if it takes 20 minutes to go to campus from our apato by bike, how long does it take on foot?) just because Eja felt like walking (aarrghh), arrived at home at 7 PM, and then starved to death because I didn’t cook!
And here is the picture of Honjo Shinkansen Eki (station) at 6 PM. See the hills at the back?
Yea, the campus is behind the hills!



Sakura ...... sakura .........no yama mo satomo
Miwatasu kagiri
Kasumi-ka kumo-ka .... asahi-ni niou
Sakura .... Sakura..... Hanazakari

Cherry Blossoms, cherry blossoms. On mountains, in villages.
As far as you can see.
They look like fog or clouds. They are fragrant in the morning sun.
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms. In full bloom.