Japan: Day Three Cherry Blossoms

My third day in Japan was a mission to see cherry blossoms, or Sakura. It has been my favorite flower for years and to be honest I am not sure why. I think because it is not common and I am always going after things that are not common. Spoiler alert: I was successful!

Our breakfast at the hotel was, interesting. Any meal that requires a cheat sheet I consider interesting. 

Only Laura and Leilani joined me for the adventure and we found ourselves a bit late so we had to run to catch our first train. Train challenges became a theme on this journey. But we were all smiles  

Any time you create goals that rely on nature you need to set your expectations low. When I booked this trip I never thought I would see the Sakura because they bloom in late March and I knew I would miss them by a couple of weeks. However, I learned there is a Kawazu-Sakura variety that blooms in February. For that, I was thinking I would be too late but Mother Nature was on my side and the cool winter extended them into March! 

Since we didn’t plan this day until the last minute we did not have a ticket for our final leg of the trip. As you can imagine, when the Sakura bloom everyone makes their way there. So when we needed to secure our final ticket, the kiosk was saying it was sold out. But an agent did her magic and got us the last three seats! I would have cried but I didn’t have time as we ran had to run to catch the final train.

When we arrived in Kawazu I looked outside and saw my first tree. Wow! Just wow. Thanks to the rain and probably because they bloomed late, the crowds were small. It was just amazing. The three of us spent time simply taking photos and being in awe of the beauty. Sakura in Japan. Wow. 

Our host, Yuki, had driven down from Tokyo earlier so the girls returned with her. I decided to spend a bit more time exploring and going back on the train. It was an absolutely amazing experience, as stupid as seeing flowers bloom can be. 

I jumped on a train back and enjoyed the ride. I just love riding on a train. It is so relaxing. I landed in Tokyo and did some shopping. I hate shopping but since my girls are so into Japan I decided to pick up a few things for them. I came here with just a backpack so let’s just say I bought enough candy and trinkets it required the purchase of a separate bag to get them home!! I normally do not buy them much but I will be seeing them in May so I will be bringing them at that time.

Overall, it was an amazing day. I love this life I have created for myself. It is far from perfect but I get so much joy from my travels I cannot imagine doing it any other way.