Today our little group will be traveling from Tokyo in central Japan, via bullet train to Hiroshima in in southwestern Japan, thence continuing via ferry boat to Miyajima. Thing is, we don’t board the train until a couple of hours after breakfast…
So…
…we arose early (yawn) and headed out to Chidorigafuchi Park (“Chee-dory-gah-foochee” was my best guess) well before breakfast to see if we could find some developed cherry blossoms to take a couple of pics of. Sakura only occurs for around 10 days to two weeks in the Spring of each year. Planning a trip to Japan only for the cherry blossoms can be a real “crap-shoot” depending on the weather. The weeks just prior to our arrival had been a bit cool, and that’s why the blossoms weren’t quite at peak.
After a brief subway ride, we pop our heads up above ground like prairie dogs to find some really pretty cherry trees, backlit by the rising sun. No pun intended.
As we walked down the sidewalk and around a corner, a really nice view of the park appeared. Yay. My sleepy mode is turning to excitement. This little side-trip may well pay off with a couple of good images.
The waterway in these images is the moat that surrounds the grounds of the Imperial Palace
These tree’s buds are still several days away from peak development, but still quite breathtaking.
As our little group dispersed to do their own things, I was left alone with my thoughts. I found a place to sit down and pondered how completely this park was able to shut out the commotion, noise, and the orderly chaos of Tokyo. I channeled quiet and imagined solitude for a few peaceful moments. Soft music was provided by the birds, joyfully singing their hearts out in celebration of the gift of another day of life.
I took a few more solitary moments to be thankful that I, too, was experiencing one more sparkling new day of life. My old body gets tired much more quickly that it used to, and I experience pain every single day, but all-in-all…
…it’s a good day to be alive.
Rowboats are tied up, waiting for long lines of sweethearts to begin forming just prior to the opening of business at 11am. During “the season” (Sakura), these boats rent for about 800 yen ($8 usd) per 30 minutes.
This Japanese stranger and I were both quietly standing alone, lost in our own thoughts, staring at the vista across the moat.
We both happened to turn at the same time and our eyes met.
We both reacted instantaneously by raising our cameras and taking each other’s picture. Two photographers, from opposite sides of the world, bonded as friends in that instant, without exchanging a single word.
There are lots of differences between the Japanese and we americans. But, on the other hand, we’re also so very similar at the same time. I celebrate both our similarities and our differences.
The time was nigh for our train trip to Hiroshima, but just before we ran for the subway, I looked down and shot one last image:
This image is a nice note to end on. See you in Miyajima.