Cherry blossom viewing at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom last weekend.  I'm skipping over a few previous ideas I wanted to share with you.  Don't fret, I'll get to them later!  Oh, by the way, our friends, Pat and Gary from Ohio, spent 10 days with us.  We had a great time with them.  Watch for our adventures in future blogs.

On Saturday, April 7, Bill and I went to the Shinjuku Garden.  We enjoyed the beauty of the cherry blossoms along with thousands of other people.  We enjoyed a tea ceremony at the tea house, Rakuu-Tei, which is located on the grounds of the garden.  Unfortunately, the tea ceremony was "westernized", but still lovely.

We had an Hanami at the garden.  Hanami literally means "flower viewing".  An hanami generally consists of an outdoor picnic, enjoying good food and drink.  And of course, the cherry blossoms.  Note:  good drink could not be enjoyed, the garden would not allow alcohol.  We spread our blanket and enjoyed the surroundings.  The most common blanket used is a blue tarp.

Enjoy the garden photos, the tea house with our Japanese sweets and tea, our beautiful server, and our hanami meal!