Sunday April 6
Went to Tochigi City, a good 2 hr drive away, to see Cherry blossoms. Dan acted weird and wouldn’t sit next to me in the car or talk to me. My feelings were kind of hurt; I thought we were friends, what’s up with that?
The drive was so worth it. We arrived at a temple at the base of a mountain covered in blooming cherry trees. It was breathtaking.
Inside the temple we looked around at all the temple-y stuff and climbed the obligatory million stairs to another part of the temple.
At the top of the stairs there was another walkway that went uphill to the most beautiful graveyard I’ve ever seen. I know how that sounds, but I think Japanese graveyards are pretty anyway and with the cherry blossoms all over the place…it looked like the ideal place to be buried.
In the middle of the main temple area (back down the stairs), there’s a 300+ yr old cherry tree that has its branches held up by support poles because it’s such a massive tree.
In one corner of the temple, they were selling matcha, Japanese tea ceremony-style tea. It’s thick and frothy and bitter, but I love it. It’s an acquired taste for most non-Japanese, though, I think. I got some and it came with a small hazelnut cake, which was delicious. It was overpriced, but I’m here for the experience, not to save money.
Mayumi and I tossed in 5 yen coins at one of the side temples, rang the bell, clapped, and prayed for luck. After that, we found a map of the mountain. Dan decided he wanted to hike to the shrine at the top, while the rest of us opted to go in the car.
Some of the girls were wearing heels so they couldn’t really hike, and I’m just lazy. So we drove and it took forever because apparently everyone else was lazy, too, but I would do it again if I had the choice - the driving route was lined on both sides by cherry trees and the flowers formed a canopy above the road. I took so many pictures through the windows of the car but I don’t think they do it justice.
Finally we got past the traffic to the parking area and got out of the car and went the short remaining distance to the top of the mountain, where Dan was eating. Mayumi and I ate too (udon with mountain vegetables for me! It was great!), while Mika and Sachie walked around outside and looked down at the city, which looked really cool since it was dark by then.
J
After we finished eating, we all went together to the shrine, a short walk in the dark from the restaurant/souvenir area. It looked cool in the dark and I took some pictures and then Mayumi and Sachie helped me get a fortune from the fortune box and read what it said. Apparently I drew the best possible fortune. So then they read theirs and we tied the papers to the tree next to the shrine. Real Japanese style!
After that we headed out and came back home and Dan acted even weirder in the car on the way back, he moved all the way over by the door and didn’t look at me for the entire hour + ride home.
The drive was so worth it. We arrived at a temple at the base of a mountain covered in blooming cherry trees. It was breathtaking.
Inside the temple we looked around at all the temple-y stuff and climbed the obligatory million stairs to another part of the temple.
At the top of the stairs there was another walkway that went uphill to the most beautiful graveyard I’ve ever seen. I know how that sounds, but I think Japanese graveyards are pretty anyway and with the cherry blossoms all over the place…it looked like the ideal place to be buried.
In the middle of the main temple area (back down the stairs), there’s a 300+ yr old cherry tree that has its branches held up by support poles because it’s such a massive tree.
In one corner of the temple, they were selling matcha, Japanese tea ceremony-style tea. It’s thick and frothy and bitter, but I love it. It’s an acquired taste for most non-Japanese, though, I think. I got some and it came with a small hazelnut cake, which was delicious. It was overpriced, but I’m here for the experience, not to save money.
Mayumi and I tossed in 5 yen coins at one of the side temples, rang the bell, clapped, and prayed for luck. After that, we found a map of the mountain. Dan decided he wanted to hike to the shrine at the top, while the rest of us opted to go in the car.
Some of the girls were wearing heels so they couldn’t really hike, and I’m just lazy. So we drove and it took forever because apparently everyone else was lazy, too, but I would do it again if I had the choice - the driving route was lined on both sides by cherry trees and the flowers formed a canopy above the road. I took so many pictures through the windows of the car but I don’t think they do it justice.
Finally we got past the traffic to the parking area and got out of the car and went the short remaining distance to the top of the mountain, where Dan was eating. Mayumi and I ate too (udon with mountain vegetables for me! It was great!), while Mika and Sachie walked around outside and looked down at the city, which looked really cool since it was dark by then.
J
After we finished eating, we all went together to the shrine, a short walk in the dark from the restaurant/souvenir area. It looked cool in the dark and I took some pictures and then Mayumi and Sachie helped me get a fortune from the fortune box and read what it said. Apparently I drew the best possible fortune. So then they read theirs and we tied the papers to the tree next to the shrine. Real Japanese style!
After that we headed out and came back home and Dan acted even weirder in the car on the way back, he moved all the way over by the door and didn’t look at me for the entire hour + ride home.