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| Tea House in the Garden of Okochi Sanso |
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| Adam and Diana and friends |
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| Ella and a Nihon Zaru |
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| Arashiyama Bamboo Grove |
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| Sakura at Nijo Cast |
13 April 2012
Adam, Diana and Ella arrived on April 6, which we had excitedly anticipated. They brought with them the full flowering of Sakura, which was a bit late this year due to chilly weather. The trees flower for just a few days, but the sheer numbers of trees along the Kamogawa River, the canals, in the parks and temples makes a wondrous sight. Japanese have picnics and parties for days, and call viewing of trees "Hanna mi." When the petals blow off, there is white snow everywhere, and this is called "Hanna fubuki" or flower blizzard. We were thrilled to have delayed our departure to be here for this frenzy.
We had some wonderful days with Adam, Diana and Ella including a visit to Nijo Castle, a walk through Gion which allowed Ella to spend her stash of change on the tantalizing array of adorable little things that fill the stores. The traditional Japanese change purse, made of old kimono cloth or imitation thereof is called a "Gama guchi" or frog mouth. We had tea in our favorite tea shop in Gion, Ella enjoyed the roasted nori-mochi, She was also good at getting her udon noodles with chopsticks. Our last day was a trip to Arashiyama, where we visited the monkey park with Mayo-san and Satoki, much to everyone's delight. In the afternoon we strolled through the magical bamboo grove, and visited the magnificent stroll garden and tea house at Okochi Sanso, the private villa of a famous silent film actor, Okochi Denjiro.
It was sad to see them go, and of course it reminded us of our imminent departure.
We send love
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