Hanami, and Views From Above
03 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
I left off returning to Shizuoka from Kawaguchiko on Saturday night, and going for a 30 minute run on a warm night. The next day, Sunday, April 3rd, I had plans to attend hanami (cherry blossom viewing) with Mai, and I also invited my Shizuoka host-brother, Shouzou. Cherry blossoms are known as sakura in Japanese, and the viewing of them is a big ado. People show up at parks in the early morning to lay out a big tarp and claim a spot under a nice cherry tree. And, of course, since theft is practically non-existent in Japan, their spot is till there for them when they return around lunch time. Some tarps are just big enough for a picnic for two, while other spots will have four or more large tarps all laid out next to each other for large groups. Basically, people hang around chatting with their friends, eating delicious food, and drinking soda/beer/sake all day with their friends. Not a bad way to pass the time!
The hanami that Mai was taking to to was located in Sunpu Park, home to the reconstructed Sunpu Castle in Shizuoka. I believe she had heard about the hanami from someone she knew from when she worked at the gym, and he liked to meet foreigners. So, as you can imagine, there were a lot of foreigners there! Which, I don’t really mind, but I would rather hang out with Japanese people while on vacation in Japan because, well frankly, I get to see Americans everyday in America… you know? Also, the hanami was a potluck, and I didn’t bring any food, so I felt bad… But, I still had a fun time talking with people, and KFC is still alive and well in Japan (as evidenced below), and they also had taiko (Japanese drumming) performances, so there was a lot to see and do. Ironically enough, there weren’t many cherry blossoms. The weather had been to cold, and so the trees were just starting to bloom, and the branches still looked bare.
While Mai, Shouzou, and I ate some of the food people had brought, we felt a little bad about it (well, at least I did!) and it was cold, and so we decided to go find a ramen shop. Shouzou-kun knew of one, and off went into the streets of Shizuoka. The ramen shop was similar to one I went to in Kawaguchiko in that you ordered you meal via a machine where you insert money and press the button of what you want. Then you proceed into the shop and hand the staff the tickets the machine printed out. Quite clever, really. And the ramen was delicious!! I don’t think any ramen I’ve eaten in Japan has been anything but delicious, and that’s why I like it so much 
After lunch, we returned to the park for a while, but there were so many people it was a little overwhelming, and I was having trouble remembering names and making connections. I think I’m better meeting people one on one. Mai, Shouzou and I decided it would be fun to go to the harbor at Shimizu, and Mai would drive us there. We had to walk back to where she had parked, at her grandpa’s business place. On the way, we spotted some cherry trees which had started to bloom, but they had been planted high up a retaining wall. I convinced Mai and Shouzou to climb up the wall for some pics, which I think really went against their Japanese ideas of social norms, but it was kind of exhilarating! Here are the photos we got
In Shimizu, we went to the harbour, which also had a large shopping mall and a ferris wheel. We entered the harbor via the mall, and from the 2nd or 3rd floor we spotted this down below:
Yes, those are children inside of giant inflated balls, floating in a large kiddie pool. Looked like fun! But no, we didn’t do it… Instead we walked out onto the docks where we discovered an incredible strong and cold breeze, and hastily made our way back to shore. After some time, Mai needed to leave for church, and so Shouzou and I decided to ride the ferris wheel. The view of Shimizu and the harbor from the top was amazing.
Shouzou decided he wanted to take me to Nihondaira, which is a tall scenic mountain view-point, since I missed out on the Rotary trip to Nihondaira when I was in Japan last fall. We took a free shuttle bus to Shimizu station, and from there went to Okitsu station, I believe, where he had parked his car. As an interesting note about Shimizu station, I spent about 20 minutes there late one night waiting for a train back when I visited Nori-chan (and had dinner at Kanako’s apartment where Osapi made delicious home-made dinner), and during that time I noticed a girl practicing ballet in the large area which was an overpass between the two paltforms on each side of the tracks. The overpass is an enclosed walkway with all glass windows, and is quite wide. I recall she seemed to be really good at ballet, doing pirouettes and what-not. So this time, as Shouzou and I walked through the overpass, we saw a guy doing some kind of hiphop/break dancing, and a group of teenage girls who had been walking behind us paused to watch, obviously impressed. Shouzou explained to me that the station is well known for teenagers to come practice dance in the area late at night
It was getting dark by the time Shouzou drove me up the windy road to the top of Nihondaira. He explained that the road is famous for people racing their cars up and down it late at night, even though it is both dangerous and illegal. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift came to mind. Urg, I can’t believe I’m admitting to having seen that movie… Anyway, even my nice camera couldn’t do the night view from Nihondaira proper justice.
Shouzou drove me back to the main Shizuoka station, and I caught the next Shinkansen (bullet train) to Hamamatsu to stay with Yoshimi-chan. I was really happy to see Shouzou-kun again, and I appreciate his spending all day with me and taking me on some amazing adventures. I wish I could have gotten to see the rest of the family too. He told me they are all doing well
