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Tag: Cherry Blossom

  • Cherry blossom in Stockholm

    Cherry blossom in Stockholm

    Time for cherry blossom in Stockholm!

    On Saturday my two daughters and I took the train into Stockholm to look at the cherry blossom, or Sakura blossom in Kungsträdgården. The weather was nice and the sun was shining so I expected that were not going to be alone in, and I was right…

    First we went to the southern part of Stockholm to walk around and have some lunch before the event in kungsträdgården arranged by the Japanese society here in Stockholm.

    sisters and shadows

    The girls’ just can´t walk straight without making up some small game to play. This time it was “you can only walk on the lines-game”. I thought it would be harder to play the “don´t walk on the line-game” but I didn´t have anything to say about that.

    stockholm lejonbacken

    On the way to Kungsträdgården we went be the castle to look at the guards. There was a small argument about the guards and what the purpose really was to have them standing outside the castle. Guarding the castle was not top of mind for the girls, helping tourist who fell down the steep slope was. The man running in this image was a good candidate for falling down… (He didn´t)

    guard at the castle

    This guard stood completely still outside this small yellow hut. I tried to get the girls to stand beside him for a quick picture, but this was the closest they were willing to go…

    feeding ducks

    This is the bird feeding point at Stockholm Ström. It is always someone that throws bred to the ducks. The girls stood here for quite some time to look at the fight that occurred among the ducks every time someone throws bread into the water.

    sakura blossom stockholm

    Just look at it! There is something special about the cherry trees with its small pink flowers. Might have something to do with the short time the flowers are in bloom. One maybe two weeks is the maximum time for the blossom and there are only for a couple of days when all the trees are in full bloom.

    sakura blossom stockholm waterfront

    Between all the trees there is a large pond where the students always run before graduate. There are no fishes in the pond, only children and their unfortunate fathers who have to step in and pick them up again. Today I only saw one child step out into the water and a not so happy father stepping after.

    sakura blossom stockholm crowdet

    We were not alone…

    origami

    This lady was showing of some origami skills a notch or two over my level. To be able to fold a paper into a horse that actually looks like a horse takes some skill.

    This day Stockholm was really showing one of its best sides. I it hard to beat a good combination of good weather, spare time and something funny to do with it together with the kids.

    Until next time, Love!

    /Thomas

     

  • Sakura blossom in Tokyo 2012

    Sakura blossom in Tokyo 2012

    So this is what everybody talks about. Cherry blossom in Tokyo is magical. The tiny pink and white cherry flower completely fills the sky and in some areas the rows of trees just keeps on and on. All I can say is -Wow!

    For regular tourists that visits Tokyo for a week or two, must have a big portion of luck to be able to see the cherry blossom in its full glory. The blossoming only last for a week in Tokyo and that week varies from year to year depending on the weather and temperature, adding to that is the fact that you often book flight tickets month ahead makes it not that easy… Luckily the season for cherry blossom in Japan is quite long so if you are prepared for some travel time to see the blossom you shouldn’t miss it.

    As soon as the cherry blossom starts Tokyo prepares itself for an intense party time. In every park or street that has cherry trees the area under the trees is covered by people celebrating the return of the cherry blossoming. Notice that in this picture a group of people have reserved an area and has marked the spot by placing three boxes with beer… I can just imagine what would happen here in Stockholm if I in a public park full of people, left tree boxes filled with beer all by them self… Anyway, this is Japan and apparently this is how they do it!

    This guy has made a business out of selling grilled fish to bypasses.

    Some of the streets had special lighting in place during the cherry blossom so you could walk around under the trees during the evening. Very spectacular to see and it felt like you took part of a really special event in Japan.

    And then a couple of day after it has started, it went from spectacular and new to just ordinary and daily for most Japanese.

    And then a week later all the flowers fell off like snow and piled up on the street bellow. So now Tokyo has 51 weeks left until the next Cherry blossom 2013 starts!

    /Thomas Tanisawa