tokyo:: hanami part une

according to japanese tradition, you celebrate the cherry blossoms by throwing hanami parties to sit in the outdoors and view flowers. its great that everyone takes the time off to smell the "roses" but what makes it even more awesome is that they turn it into a huge celebration with your friends and family.

after work today, we threw ourselves a mini hanami to celebrate along ichigaya river. its still a little early but with such pretty weather, it would be a shame to give it a miss!

the japanese take their cherry blossoms very seriously! there is even a list of best hanami spots. people set up picnic mats to "book" seats under the trees weeks earlier! from the "booking" dates, it looks like most people are predicting that it will shower around april 12!

everyone needs a classic hanami picture. i must admit that musashi was more thrilled by the picnic food than the blossoms.

the huge blue picnic mats by the river marks the popular spots. we spotted groups of friends setting up hotpot stoves, enjoying copious amount of sake and a peek of some random dude's buttcheeks (!!!). but all in good flower-viewing fun!!

 isn't this the prettiest playground ever?? the entire riverside near home was spotted with low hanging pink trees. 

 

the girliness & romance of these fluffy little blossoms never fail to take my breath away. 

its our first cherry blossom in tokyo so its extra extra special. we have plans to take muumuu for brunch next week at canal cafe. hopefully by then, they will be in full bloom. but just to be extra certain, im on "blossom duty" which involves riding around town to check on their progress. 

spring is here!! finally! :)

xx