Sakura Days

The past few weeks have been devoted to sakura- or cherry blossom-chasing. Having been living in Tokyo for almost four years now, I came to learn that those beauties don't last very long, usually two weeks max. A Japanese conversation student of mine taught me the Japanese word hakanai (はかない), which can be used to describe sakura/cherry blossoms for it means fleeting. 

Weird as it may sound but since I'm such a fan of cherry blossoms, whenever it rains, I literally utter a little prayer to the flower gods if there really are any haha to not take the cherry blossoms away, not just yet. With that said, I took every chance I get to visit a park or just even go outside our house for some sakura fix.  

And everything is historyyyyyy~ 

Here's a sakura photo dump for ya and well, some sakura wisdom sprinkles I've picked up along the way, which I think might be helpful for your soul! Enjoy! ♥

{ UENO PARK }

Don't let the thought of a moment being short hinder you from enjoying it. Instead, try to make the most out of it. 

{ YOYOGI PARK }

Let loose. Play with the fallen petals. Indulge in that hanafubuki happening right in your very eyes. Even if others find it ridiculous, go for it. 

{ MEGUROGAWA }

You are beautiful when you are whole, you are still beautiful even when you are broken. The cherry blossoms are proof. You are beautiful in your own way.

{ SAKURASHINMACHI, SETAGAYA }

It's okay to be a late bloomer, sometimes. 

 { TACHIKAWA }

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Weeeew, that's a lot! And as if it's not enough, I'm gonna end this post with a compilation of sakura clips I was able to take this spring to remember the fleeting yet wonderful sakura days! ♥

Showa Sakura Situation

Yesterday's mini escape: SHOWA KINEN KOEN

Yup, one of the biggest parks in all of Tokyo's twenty three wards!  *yay* It is located in Tachikawa, about 40 minutes from Shinjuku by train. If you have been reading my blog, you might have known that I have been to and posted about Showa Kinen Koen a couple of times already ('cos it's near where I live) yet it's a first for me to visit the said park during early spring and it did not disappoint! This blog post will show you why. *wink*

Let's start, shall we?
*Warning: photo-heavy post*

Pretty, pretty spring flowers welcomed us  near the ticket booth in Tachikawa Gate. Showa Kinen Koen has 5 existing gates, each near a train station. If you're planning to visit, you might want to check out the park's website first, here.

Tickets are 410 yen for adults (over 15 y/o), 210 yen for senior citizens (over 65), and 80 yen for children (6-14 y/o). Discounts are available for visitors coming in groups.

Got tickets! Now off we go~

Can you guess who I am with? :))

Of course, I'm with my Tikki Tikki Tembo birthday boy, Kenji!
 Happy birthday, love! *yay*

And since this is my blog, I want a picture of myself, too hahaha :))

A few minutes of walking and voila, the Waterfowl Lake. Visitors can rent boats and bikes in this area for a fee of less than 1000 yen. 

The park has many zones, and in each are different areas of concentration. There are also lots of amenities, it has barbecue areas, courts for various sports, swimming pools, playgrounds, restaurants,  and flower gardens. For this particular visit, we wanted to go on a picnic under cherry blossom trees so we went to the Flowering Tree Garden Area.

Such a lovely welcome courtesy of these peonies!

And some plum blossoms, too!

And of course the star among the stars, Sakura/Cherry Blossoms! ♥

Lovely!

Sakura couple ♥

And another~

 When will I ever get enough of these cherry blossoms ahhhh~

 A few more steps and *poof* more blossoms at the Cherry Blossom Avenue! What a view! *lubdub* ♥

 The part where the pink cherry blossoms were was where we opted to do our picnic at.

Hanami/ cherry blossom viewing essentials: picnic mat, mini blankets (it can get really cold in the afternoon), food and drinks (you might want to bring sakura-inspired ones for a more sakurafied hanami haha), plastic bags for garbage, and lots of stories to share with people you are with! *wink*

Leisure painting, Someday, self, someday~

 Our chosen spot! Yay to matching Kankens! And yeah, hello Kumamon! ♥

 Our stash! It's been ages when I last made something for a picnic!

Sakura-printed paper plate just because ft. Kenji's maguro-umeboshi onigiri ♥

 This view, the birds' chirps, and the wind's swish swoosh-- so relaxing! For a second, we thought we were not in Tokyo!

No wonder someone fell asleep~ hahahaha kidding

 More sakuraaaa~

Beautiful ♥

Every spot was just picturesque!

kaya feel na feel ni teh hahaha

Run~

and have some fun!

Really glad I got to play with my camera cos it's been rotting in storage for heaven knows how long. 

 Bubbles~

Ahhh childhood!

Forever kid at heart!

And another one haha!

 Such a happy person haha!

 Spotted a choo choo train roaming around the park. This reminded me of my brother's Thomas toy trains when he was little! Visitors can opt to ride this if they want to see the park's beauty minus the walking part haha!

Not sure about this tree hmm. Is this a Carolina silverbell tree, anyone?

Saw some white sakura on our way out  ♥

 Wintessed some pre-nup sesh, too!

Capped off park day with soft cream cone! :)

This picnic day is supposedly the second leg of Kenji's birthday celebration but looking at the pictures, I think I was the one who enjoyed it more haha! Such a breather for the stress consuming me these past few weeks! Nature really does wonders! I would definitely go back here! ♥