I've got a new camera :-) I decided to go test it out at a Japanese apricot/plum blossom festival! It was SUCH a beautiful day for it and the camera is way better than I even thought possible, so I'm a very happy girl, unfortunately I wasn't feeling 100% so I didn't stay too long... I got enough photos though (this post is going to be mostly photos).
The photo above was by complete accident... I'd been pressing all the buttons on the camera and it did this - kinda cool... pretty much sums up the whole event in one photo.
There were so many people there, it seemed that this blossom attracted all types of people too, young and old, rich and poor. I love Japan for it's diversity... no one is judged, people can walk around wearing what they want and being who they want to be... it's rare and I love it! I am really looking forward to the cherry blossom in spring I think that this is just a warm-up festival!
In this park there were over 300 Ume (Japanese Apricot and Plum) Trees and a ridiculous amount of different types of this tree and flower, colours ranging from bright white, through to light yellow to bright pink (and reds apparently but I didn't see any here).
There was lots of people having picnics and there were lots of food stalls.
There were rows and rows of people selling beautiful flowers and cuttings from the plum trees. I wanted to buy one and take one back to England with me, but apparently that's NOT allowed - how silly am I?!
I had such a great time with Charie at the Festival and the weather was perfect! We had originally planned to go there because there was going to be a flea market, but as it turned out (and it had been raining heavily the night before) only a few people showed up for their stalls. So we didn't actually buy anything at the flea market. However... there were rows and rows of food stalls selling various popular food from around the world... yuuuuuuum!
We both got some food cuz we were pretty hungry! Charie had some Korean food and I (of course) had YAKATORI... I'm a little bit addicted!!! I love it! And no... neither of us had the octopus in the photo above... When I first came to Japan this sort of thing would have totally surprised and shocked me, but now it just feels normal to see this kind of thing for sale and after I've taken the photos (as evidence!) and don't give it a second thought! I am certainly accepting how and what the Japanese do. Infact... I love it all!
We heard some drumming and we decided to go and see what was going on! We found the parade part of the festival! It was great spending an afternoon with Charie, she is so positive and excitable about anything and everything, I loved it. We kept moving around so I could take photos from different angles! It was great!
There was lots of dancing, singing and drumming going on, this group looked amazing. They all wore Yukata/Kimono style clothes but they looked like the same material that Saris (Indian ladies clothes/dresses) are made from. Stunning!!! I want to get one!!!! I'm thinking next pay day might call for a stop at the cheap yukata shop in Asakusa, see what they've got for me!!!
I took lots of videos so I won't put them on on the blog but you can find the rest on our flickr page.
There was so much going on and so much to see, and we kept moving all time so we would see something new. I am normally happy when I find a good spot to just stay there and not give it up (typical western thgoughts!), but it was pretty cool seeing the same thing from different angles... it was definitely inspirational for my photography! I love Japanese tradition dances like the one above, the movement in so slow and smooth it's very relaxing to watch... I wonder if it is relaxing to do too!
This one was quite funny to watch. It was much younger people dancing and singing maybe between the ages of 18-30, but I really can't tell how old Japanese people are, everyone looks so young! hehe,
I found this quite amusing to watch, alot more upbeat that the previous one but still such slow movement.
We had a walk around and we saw a crowd of people gathering and in the middle of the crowd was a lady and her performing monkey. I don't know whether it was cruel because he was on a rope lead but he didn't seem to mind doing the tricks... next video is definitely a good watch!
There was so much to see and do, and we both had a great day - and more photos to see on our flickr page :-)
