Hanami

Hanami, which rather succinctly means, "cherry blossom viewing", is over. However, a few weekends ago we were all invited to join our friend's family hanami outing and lunch date in the foothills east of here. Unfortunately Sam was not feeling well on the appointed day and we almost cancelled completely, except for the fact that Miki was fine and so loves anything related to flowers, we decided at the very least that she and I should attend. So we did.

We met our friends in Hachioji and proceeded to a large, private acreage owned by an international chapter/society, of which my friend's father is a member. We toured the grounds and orchards before walking to a local University campus also bursting with cherry blossoms. It wasn't long before the little ones in the group started to ask about lunch so we hailed a taxi and drove about 20 min. to the base of Mount Takao.

Our lunch reservation was at a beautiful, traditional-styled restaurant and we had a large, private room waiting for us. The food was fantastic and after a few sips of beer the sake came out. My friend and I have a weakness for good, "micro-brewed" sake and it wasn't long before... well, you know how it goes. I'll leave it at that.

Miki had a grand time entertaining us all with her dances and Japanese nursery rhyme songs. We exited the restaurant to a warm, late afternoon sun and strolled for a few minutes along the river and back to the train station.

Here are some photos from that day, in no particular order.