Sakura Hunting Part 02 : Bisdak Babbles

Once again, the Sakura Hunters, equipped with 2-3 onigiri* each, headed to Kyoto for another Sakura adventure.

(1) Toji Temple
We just went there to see the 5-story pagoda but weren’t able to get close to it; not with the 1000-yen admission fee! So we just took pictures “within our reach”. ^-^

(2) Kyoto Botanical Garden
For the 200-yen admission fee, we got the chance to gaze upon Sakura trees, tulips, pine trees, etc. I think the place is much better than other Hanami spots because it’s less crowded than other places (probably because it closes at 5:00PM?).

(3) Kamigamo Shrine
We went there last week but the pink sakura was not yet in “mankai*” mode. Much to our disappointment, the pink sakura tree had just started to bloom:

We were uplifted when we saw a woman wearing a Japanese costume different than that of a geisha (I have no idea from what era that costume belonged to). I was impressed and grateful that the woman just kept on smiling even though many people crowded around her and took her picture. I was able to steal some shots:

(4) Lost
For the second time, on our way to Arashiyama, we got lost. But this time, we were happy we got lost because we found this gem that we assumed few people knew about:

(5) Arashiyama
This time, we arrived at Arashiyama before dark. We were able to climb the mountain and since most of the Sakura viewers were already on their way home, we have few rivals in posing in these beatiful scenes:

(6) Yasaka Shrine
This is near the train station so we designated this to be one of the last stops. The place was still very crowded that we had to make bold steps to pose behind this Sakura tree:

(7) Gion
Our last stop. Typical of our visits here, we walked through this old district hunting for geishas. Indeed, we saw more than 5 of them but they walked so fast that we were not able to get a clear picture. We even temporarily became “peeping toms” to steal a look at those ladies.

You could find more pictures in my Picasa Web Album.
And my favorite picture in this adventure:

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Japanese Terms:
onigiri = is a snack of Japanese rice formed into triangle or oval shapes and wrapped in nori (, edible seaweed?).
mankai = full bloom