Sakura at Shinjukugyoen

Sunlight, warm breezes, and blooming flowers--the world springs to life again after a bitingly cold winter.  I make my first hanami trip to Shinjuku-gyoen, where the cherished cherry blossoms have made an early appearance.

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon at the park.  There were still many naked trees revealing their dark, gnarly branches, but some early bloomers showed off their beautiful blossoms for the flocks of Tokyo shutterbugs. The magnolia tree near the entrance was in its full glory.

 

After admiring the magnolias, I saw some strange, dangling yellow flowers on the way to the cherry blossom trees. Thanks to Lisa for being a lovely model!

Many cherry blossom trees still had no sign of blossoms, but I imagine next week the park will be a forest of pink and white.  It was surprising to see that several trees were already in almost in full bloom.

Photo credit to Lisa for the shot of me-

Again, I probably just saw 1% of the entire park since it's so huge, but there was plenty of interesting plants to see in the area near the entrance (the one closest to Metro Shinjukugyoenmae station).

 

Cool, twisty branches

 Some shots I took on the way to the garden from JR Shinjuku station:

I was turned off by how hectic Tokyo is for a long time, but lately the craziness is kind of refreshing. There's so much energy and creativity bursting from the city, yet there are beautiful and serene patches of nature like Shinjukugyoen to relax and wander in.

More hanami adventures to come!