Robots. Sushi. Anime. Sakura. These are the first things that come to mind when I think of Japan.
When we booked our flight to Japan, it just happened that we took advantage of a seat sale, chanced upon a very cheap flight to Narita, and booked it right away. Plus, the timing couldn't be any more perfect for Jan’s birthday. It never occurred to us that it's going to be the most anticipated and most visited sakura season.
I got so excited when I learned about it and started reading about these famed cherry blossoms only to end up a little disappointed about the fact that these pink delicate flowers bloom for just a week. Early April is the best time to see the sakuras this year according to blooming predictions. And since we will be arriving two weeks earlier, the chances of seeing these in full bloom are slim.
On our first day, we have already seen a few budding sakuras on some streets. Even
Hachiko's statue stood under the sakura trees. It wasn't that impressive, yet. But it's promising and we were hoping to see them bloom in a riot of pink hues.
So we visited two parks, Chidorigafuchi (ten-minute walk from our hotel) and Yoyogi Park, which are best known for
hanami (flower viewing). Even though each park offers a charming scenery of spring, not one sakura tree has a single flower on sight yet.
We then proceeded to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, home of at least a thousand sakura trees.