I couldn’t stop cackling when the friends sent me videos of this particularly windy day in Tokyo earlier last week, along with captions like, “The flowers are blown off the trees! No more sakura after this weekend! No more sakura when you come in.” Hurhurhur. The wind was whipping around so fierce that people had difficulty walking!
Soooooo glad that the flowers have wilted and fallen off the trees. Nope, totally not here for the hanami season. I don't care about sakura, plum or apricot or any sort of flower fields or patches. In recent years, the incredible numbers of tourists thronging Tokyo in late March and April are horrifying. I couldn’t care less about flowers or manicured gardens. I care that the crowds have eased off and won't elbow my face each time I walk through a famous or popular stretch of streets.
Unfortunately each time I swing into Japan, I don't get to go to anywhere else but Tokyo because these aren't exactly leisurely trips. It does help that I can avoid downtown and the main tourists traps, and quietly melt into the suburbs and feel right at home wherever. When I live in a crowded city, visiting another densely packed city doesn't instantly put me in a better mood. Being able to slot in nature trails to the itinerary would help loads to alleviate the surly disposition. What puts a smile on my face is feeling the rhythm of the change of seasons, and soaking in this wonderfully crisp spring weather.
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