We got our chance to act as tour guides with our families in this beloved country. We got to know Kyoto really well, and spent more days in Osaka and Nara. With my mother and aunt in town we hopped on our first shinkansen (bullet train) and took a ride to Hiroshima and then to Tokyo. Hiroshima was incredibly beautiful, intense and educational. I cannot wait to go back! We spent the first afternoon informing ourselves at the Peace Memorial Museum and wandering around the attached park. The following morning we loaded a ferry bound for the island of Miyajima, famed for Itsukushima, the floating torii. After a quick boat ride under the torii, we boarded a cable car for the top of Misen-san. The views from the top of the island were amazing and I found myself with the urge to lay on a beach or go swimming.
Tokyo was expansive and exhausting, yet amazing in it's own right. We were even given a few minutes' peek at Fuji-san from the high speed bullet train. As always we were all happy to come back to our beloved home in Kansai, where there is just a bit more of a down-to-earth, home-grown sort of feel.
Spring officially began several weeks ago, but the real marking of spring came with the blossoming sakura trees. After having a three week haru yasumi (spring break) filled with family, traveling and sightseeing, a Sunday spent in Sakuranomiya Koen with friends under the flowering trees was a nice end to it all.
This is the time of year meant to be spent celebrating in Japan. Celebrating the end to a long, cold winter and the promises of spring. Celebrating the beauty that is the sakura tree, celebrating a chance to let loose in the warming sun with only the protection of pink and white petals. Whatever the reasoning, hanami (literally translated to 'look at flowers') is a splendid yearly occurrence in Japan. It's a merry festival of barbecuing, picnicking, playing, laughing, drinking and napping underneath the sakura tree. It's also one of the few chances to see the locals throw one back in the middle of day and act wild and unruly in public (by Japanese standards).
In Japan, the new school year begins in April after the three week break and I am right back in the thick of things. It feels strange and uniquely comfortable to be starting my second year as an eigo no sensei. There was one major change that I was feeling some apprehension towards, but was quite easy and enjoyable to adjust to. At Houtoku there is a new Japanese English teacher named Yuina. She replaced my good friend Nami and I couldn't be happier with who was chosen to do such a thing.
For some photos of these wondrous events:
Spring in Japan Facebook Pictures
