sakura 🌸 time

Spring is in full-swing here in Japan, and that means it is time to celebrate sakura (cherry blossoms)!

The main way people celebrate is by partaking in hanami (“flower viewing”, usually in the form of a picnic under the trees).

We saw lots of people out in Hiroshima when we went for a day trip earlier this week. All around the park people were enjoying the beautiful day, eating their lunch, playing, and lounging under the trees.

sakura in the sculpture garden

Then on Friday, we were fortunate enough to be invited to hanami by one of E’s teams at work. It was incredible to be in a grove of cherry trees right at the peak of the flowering.

sakura by the castle

This weekend we also had the chance to visit Tsuwano again (the old samurai town where we went for the heron dance last summer). This time the town was hosting its annual Yabusame (horse archery) competition.

The range/track was built almost 500 years ago and it’s lined with cherry trees, so the early April event is perfectly timed with the Sakura.

walking the course

The object of the contest is to hit all three targets while riding at top speed down a 255m long track. We witnessed only one rider hit all three!

The official competition was on Sunday, but we went up the day before just to watch the archers practice. It was great to see them up close, even if they didn’t have their full costumes on.

here for the horsies

On the actual day of the performance, the archers first visit the Shinto shrine at the grounds, praying for peace, health, and a good harvest. The shrine is dedicated to Hachiman (the god of archery and war).

In-Yo-In-Yo!! (“darkness and light”, they yell as they ride)

Thanks to our friends who invited us!
…and to this guy on the left who we wanted to TAKE our group picture, but he interpreted as getting INTO our group picture 😂

making new friends!

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P.S. E had an exciting engineering-related adventure this week, too — he climbed to the top of the world's longest suspension bridge! Well, it's called a “climb”, but there's actually an elevator; and it's not the longest in the world as if 2022, but still the longest in Japan — 1,991 meters of suspension (3,911 meters total length!)

The view from 1,000ft up!

The bridge even celebrates sakura season, by lighting up with a special pattern!