Saturday March 29, 2009
Koganai Park
Cloudy w/partial Sun and Cold!
So much for the cherry blossom experts! They said we will have an early cherry blossom season and in Tokyo the blossoms will be in full bloom this weekend. Well they were wrong! We had a cold spell, so some of the cherry blossoms decided to sleep for a few more days before blooming.
One of my clients invited me to his annual Hanami Party at Koganai Park. We all thought it was planned perfectly but because of the cold spell only about 30% of the blossoms were in full bloom. In addition, it turned out to be an unusual cold spring day (about 4C or so). My client has been hosting this party for over 15 years and all agreed that this was the coldest Hanami party he has ever hosted. However, despite the cold and the few cherry blossoms that were in full bloom we had a good time. It was less crowded than last year so we had alot of space and the trees were still beautiful… its a different type of beauty than being in full bloom as you have a mixture of the white flowers and pink buds. And of course, the alcohol was flowing, from champagne to sake to shochu which helped keep us warm.
Before I share photos of the party, let me explain a bit about Hanami. Hanami is an ancient custom in Japan having to do with enjoying the beauty of flowers. In very old Japan it referred to enjoying the many different flowers of the season but these days its solely for celebrating cherry blossom season. The cherry blossom "Hanami" is said to have been started by the emperor of Japan during the Heian period, where the Imperial court will drink sake underneath the cherry trees and party to celebrate the beauty of the blossoms. Although it was only for the Imperial court, shoguns and samurais, the custom spread to the common people and is still an important tradition in Japan.
I was re-introduced to this custom when I moved to Tokyo for work and intend to bring it to California albeit I have to think about what flower to celebrate!
I got up at 5am on Saturday to prepare food for the party. I made smoked salmon rolls on pumpernickel bread (no photo) and tomato w/mozzarella and basil which took forever as I skewered individual servings of it!
I met my colleague from work at the station and we got there sharply at 11am to find the alcohol flowing
Every time someone showed up we had a toast. This was our 8th toast.
A couple showed up with their twin babies (4 months old). One girl and one boy. They were so cute!
I love the girls hair!
The party was held at Koganai Park, which is about an hours train ride from Tokyo. Its a beautiful park and is also home to the Edo Tokyo Open Air Museum which depicts life in old Japan. A must see for history buffs. I went there last year so this year I skipped it. My client has a gorgeous house overlooking the park. Since it was cold, we packed up around 3pm and continued the party at his house.
Although only 30% if the blossoms were in bloom, they were still gorgeous! Although I was very cold, I had a great time because of the people, the cherry trees and the generosity of my client.