Cherry Blossoms in Ueno Park

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On this particular day, Larry and I decided to go to Ueno Park to see the beautiful cherry blossoms that have recently blossomed here in Japan. The cherry blossoms are a VERY big deal here and everyone goes NUTS over them because they signify "new beginnings". Not only does cherry blossom season show that spring is here, but it also is the start of the new school year for children. We learned that once they bloom, they only last about a week or so, and so perhaps that is why everyone celebrates at such an extreme level...but either way, it all seemed a bit excessive to us.

In the park, almost everyone brings these giant, blue tarps to put down on the cement and sit on (there is literally NO grass here), and then they all share in food, drinks and festivities. Larry and I didn't stay too long because it was very cold and windy this day, but we did find some time to try some of the food. We had sweet potato fries, a noodle dish, fatty meat on a stick (not sure what it was - pork or chicken?) and beer. No, we did not try the fish on a stick!! We also saw an interesting 3-man show...there was juggling, one man threw a radish out of his pants...it was good, wholesome Japanese comedy! haha!

After we left Ueno Park, we walked over to a cool market-like street called Ameyoko where we looked around and did a little shopping too. Ameyoko (ame meaning "sweets" and yoko meaning "alley") is also known as "Confectioner's Alley," and is one of Tokyo's liveliest street markets. One store I went to called "Pop Girl" was particularly funny to me because they had some guys' clothes too...I won't mention names, but one guy I know bought some shirts here!! haha!! We also found a store similar to a "Mr. Bulky" in Michigan, where we bought some packaged dry fish! (Those of you with birthdays this month, may be lucky enough to receive some in your birthday package!!!)

Later, we headed to Roppongi for some dinner at T.G.I. Friday's. It was 'Happy Hour' so we had a few drinks and splurged on the fried, American food that we both miss so very often! After dinner, we headed over to a club called "Core" to watch Matt (a friend and coworker or Larry's) DJ. It was our first club experience here in Japan, and although we didn't stay too long (to catch the last train home we had to leave by 11pm), we still had a lot of fun.

We hope you enjoyed reading about it!

Love,
Larry & Melanie

Japanese for the Day: pati o shimas ("We're having a party!")

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Comments

[danny]

nice shoes
Holy cow! The picture that you have captioned "nice shoes" is Raiden from Mortal Combat! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayden

[Michael G]

LOL
No fish on a stick??:)

[Cousin Ronnie]

Larry...or Larry?
Man, Larry, you look just like your dad when I first met him and your folks were just dating......Scary.......