Omotesando Koffee

 

After viewing cherry blossoms at Chidorigafuchi on Sunday afternoon, I decided to search for Omotesando Koffee since it was listed as one of Tokyo's best coffee shops on Time Out Tokyo. It's about a 5-minute walk from Omotesando Station (Tokyo Metro), but it was slightly difficult to locate as it was in the backstreets of Omotesando. It was a mainly residential area with a few random retail shops or cafes, and the streets all looked very similar after a while.

I made a wrong turn somewhere, but after circling the area a bit I found several people leaving and entering an old wooden house. I had found it!

 

There was a very small garden area outside the entrance of the shop, which was part of a 60-year old traditional Japanese house. Stepping into the house, I was immediately face-to-face with the cubic kiosk, where the owner/barista was preparing somebody's orders. I stood behind one customer who was waiting to order, and a few minutes later someone lined up behind me. I was surprised there were so many people in this part of Omotesando.

 

When it was my turn, I ordered a mocha (I think ~600 yen) and one of the cube-shaped custard-filled sweets. Pricey, yes, but worth it in my opinion. The owner/barista was friendly and he prepared the drink with grace and precision.

The milk was steamed very well and the dollop of whipped cream on the side was very thick and rich. The cube-shaped cake went well with the drink.

  I sat outside in the tiny garden space on one of the benches, where small bonsai plants lined the area.

I guess I visited on a day when they were doing a special exhibit of bonsai plants, so they had opened up the room next to the coffee kiosk to showcase them. Here are some of the bonsai that were on display:

How neat to find hidden gems like this coffee shop in a quiet residential area! Tokyo is full of surprises.

Afternoon hanami at Kudanshita

 

I took a second trip to Kudanshita, Tokyo to see the cherry blossoms during the day (night illumination pictures in earlier post) on a Tuesday afternoon, which was still crowded since it's spring vacation for many people. Taking exit 2 again from Tokyo Metro Kudanshita station, I followed the stream of blossom viewers along the beautiful moat.

Many people crowded around the sides of moat to see the spectacular view. 

The streets weren't as tightly packed as they were on Saturday night, but there was a fair share of people. Next, I walked across the overpass to Yasukuni shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to those who died while serving Japan.

View from the overpass

The Daiichi Torii, or Great Gate, looks just as impressive during the day as it did at night under the illumination. The yattai, or food stands, lined the pathway to the shrine as it did at night, though there were fewer people eating (it was around 2pm).
 

 I followed a stream of people moving west towards the shrine. After crossing the street, I passed the Daini Torii and finally the Chumon Torii, the last torii before reaching the shrine.

 Visitors clean their hands and mouth with water from the water-filled basins upon entering the main shrine as part of the Shinto ceremonial purification rite called chozuya or temizuya.

Cherry blossom trees and visitors filled the grounds of the shrine.

Most of the blossoms were in full bloom already at the shrine. Hopefully they'll stick around for the rest of the week and brave through the rainy weather.

Next blog: Omotesando Koffee and sakura at Meguro River>>

Into a Forest of Pink

Aoba no Mori Park in Chiba City features about 1,500 cherry trees and about 80 varieties, most of which are currently in full bloom (Chiba-tour site). The park is a 10-minute walk from Keisei Chibadera station.

The skies were overcast on Sunday, but it didn't rain as the news forecast had predicted earlier in the week. Many people picnicked, biked, jogged, and strolled along the wide paths through the spacious park.

I entered from the west side of the park and immediately saw pathways lined with cherry trees. These trees haven't reached their peak yet, but the branches were dotted with many clusters of pink blossoms.

The statues scattered throughout the park always intrigued me. This one was particularly fascinating. I walked my bike to a small garden area where a small group of people sat outside a building listening to a calm, acoustic performance (perhaps the music center? not sure). There were benches and colorful pots of flowers around the resting area.

 I biked further in to the large field where there were more cherry trees. It was amazing seeing the whole field of pink trees on the periphery of the field.

Many people were playing and relaxing in this spacious area enveloped in pale, pink blossoms.

I followed more curvy paths and found rows and rows of cherry trees, many of them at their full glory. Some petals fell in the gentle, cool breeze.

The large trees were densely covered with beautiful pale blossoms. What a serene and ethereal spring scene!

 Aoba no mori park wasn't as festive as Ueno and Chidorigafuchi, but the peaceful atmosphere and grand cherry trees made it a magnificent hanami spot and a glorious pink paradise.

Night illumination at Chidorigafuchi

After seeing the cherry blossoms at Ueno Park, I took the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line to Nihonbashi, where I transferred to the Tozai Line to get to Kudanshita. Chidorigafuchi is another popular hanami spot in Tokyo and is also the National Cemetery for the unidentified war dead from WWII.  I followed the crowds and stepped out of exit 2, where I immediately found myself facing the moat around the Imperial Palace. All around the moat, massive cherry trees in full bloom stretched their branches over the dark waters. 

It was very difficult to shoot in the dark, especially since most of the area around the moat wasn't lit up. I was still on the side opposite the illumination area. A lone boat was slowly gliding across the dark waters.

I have never seen such large cherry trees, and so many all in one area! It looked so unreal.

After struggling with shooting sakura in the dark, I walked over to the bright side of the moat and discovered the illumination area. Rows of huge cherry trees stretched on down the long street, their pale pink and white petals lit up by white, fluorescent lights.

My eyes felt so bedazzled by the enveloping canopy of glowing blossoms. How strange and wonderful to look up and see all blossoms instead of sky!

I decided not to walk all the way down the road and head off in the direction of the food stands. The illumination lasted until 10pm, so I still had time to explore.
I went across the street and discovered the Daiichi Torii, or the Great Gate, of the Yasukuni Shrine. The gate was so massive that I had to stare in a awe for a bit.

The rows of yattai ran along the wide path of the Yasukuni Shrine.

Further down the path, I found more cherry trees and people picnicking under them. It was lively and crowded like Ueno Park, but the massive gate, wide paths, and the huge space gave this hanami location a different feel.

The illumination at Chidorigafuchi should last until next Sunday (4/7). Two more weeks to see the glorious sakura world!

Hanami at Ueno

Ueno Park is one of the famous hanami spots in Tokyo and definitely one of the most crowded. I decided to check it out on Saturday evening, which was supposedly the first night they have illumination. As the train approached Ueno station, I already saw a sea of people down below in the streets. From above, the crowds looked like an insanely packed mosh pit.

My friend and I followed the crowds and entered the park. Most of the cherry blossoms were already in full bloom (or almost in full bloom). The trees created a gorgeous canopy of whites and pinks above the endless stream of faces.

 Red and white lanterns ran parallel to the long path lined with cherry blossom trees. Groups of people had already claimed their territory under the trees, eating festival food and getting intoxicated.

 The trees looked so grand with their long branches and glorious blossoms spreading across the park.  The atmosphere was lively and festive.

  

 As we walked toward the pond area, we discovered one of the food areas. The pathway was lined with yattai and packed with people. We entered the war zone and got some good festival food (ie. jaga bataa, yakitori, oden, yakisoba, etc.).

This reminded me of the festivals in the summer, except there are beautiful flowers all around instead of fireworks in the sky. Delicious aromas, night lights, great food, crowds of people enjoying themselves...Gotta love Japanese festivals.

The only thing that was a little disappointing was the "illumination." A lot of trees weren't lit up! Unless they meant the lanterns that lined the path of cherry trees, which didn't really light up the blossoms. After Ueno, I hopped over to Kudanshita to see the cherry blossoms at Chidorigafuchi, another amazing hanami spot (next blog).