Life in Fukuoka, Japan

Spring is here and in full bloom. This week is the prime peak season for the cherry blossoms. In Japan it is known as Hanami. Friends and families go out early in the day and reserve their spot under the cherry trees. They bring blankets, food, drink and sometimes even karaoke. I will be attending one next Saturday with the community center where I take my Japanese lessons.

Mark and I went to the Atago Shrine today to see the blossoms. There were many other people doing the same thing. I had never been to the Atago Shrine before, so I was really looking forward to it. I have heard a lot about the "stairs" at the shrine. Many people go there just for the exercise. There are so many stairs. In the future I may need to do it for the exercise. Today, however, I was not dressed for exercise.

While Mark and I were out taking pictures we found a crane nursery in the making. All of the cranes have been building nests. It was a sight to see. I will have to monitor the progress so I can see the baby birds when they hatch.

All around the area where I live their are planters and gardens full of flowers. The tulips are so brightly colored. Hopefully, Mark and I will be able to plant some flower gardens in different planters.

I also have a few signs that we saw today. The first one was for a laundry place. The laundry kitchen. I am thinking I would not want to eat laundry in the kitchen. Shortly after that sign I saw the Real Estate Produce. Hmm......that must be a new type of produce. The last sign was on a pachinko/slot machine building. No crying babies. I am thinking that there shouldn't be any babies, crying or otherwise, in the gambling places. Go figure.

Enjoy the photos.

Mindi

Cherry blossoms

Heading up to the Atago Shrine.

Horse statue with wishes.

Walkway

More blossoms

Brightly colored violets

Close up

Beautful

Crane nursery being built

Building a nest.

Tulips are my favorite flowers.

Looking down the stairs.

Very old and uneven stairs.

Looking down

Not my type of kitchen

Sooo many stairs

Maple leaves are coming out

My apartment building.

No crying babies at the gambling place.

Zoomed in on my building from the Atago Shrine.

Old entrance area

Beautiful blossoms

more violets....Phoenix Suns colors?

I love the pink blossoms.

MMmmmmmmm...produce.

Entrance

Looking back at the stairs.

Yes, more stairs.

On duty....

Statue

Planters next to my building.

Mark is too tall to walk through.

Yellow flowered walk.

Wishes

Looking back

Dazaifu Shrine

It has been a busy couple of weekends for Mark and I. Last weekend we were fortunate enough to have our friend, Aimee, visit us. She is currently working in Kobe until the end of March. She was able to join us for a weekend in Fukuoka. She arrived on Friday, March 1^st. On Saturday, March 2^nd we all headed to the Nazoin Temple. This is where the reclining Buddha is located. Mark and I had been out there in October. It is such a beautiful place. This time we were able to see it preparing for the spring flowers and tree blossoms to arrive. It seems to look even prettier each time we visit. I am looking forward to taking my mom there when she comes to visit in October.

Sunday, March 3^rd was Girls’ Day. We all were looking forward to our first visit to Dazaifu Shrine. We had been given directions on how to get there via the subway. We were not 100% sure of what we were doing, but we made it. We had been told that on this day there would be a special celebration at the shrine. When we first arrived I was surprised to see how many people were there. We walked up the street with all of the other visitors. We noticed that there was a ton (and no I am not exaggerating) of people lining both sides of the main path. We found someone who spoke English and we were told there was going to be a procession. Of course, we had to get a spot to watch the procession. Mark is not one who likes to stand around waiting for things, so he walked around and got some great photos of the blossoms. When it was time for the procession, Mark made it back to share in the experience. We had a good view of the bridge where the procession started towards us. Luckily, I have a camera that has a great zoom. The procession did go right past us, but there were so many people gathered around us. I would have gotten more photos with my camera, but I didn’t have the battery charged all the way. The ironic thing is that when I first got up in the morning I checked my battery, and it showed it was fully charged. I learned that I should always go with my gut. I did use our other camera to get the shots.

Once the procession was over we walked around for a short time. Dazaifu is a huge place. We knew there was no way that we could see everything. Amy had to be on the 2:30 train back to Kobe. We headed out knowing that we would return very soon to see the other areas.

Yesterday, Saturday, March 9 Mark and I returned to Dazaifu. It was much easier navigating ourselves to get there this time. I do not know what I was expecting, but I was in for a surprise when it was just as busy this weekend as last weekend. Now, I must tell you that there are plum and cherry trees throughout the area. Many people, myself included, go there to see all of the trees blossoming and to walk around the shrine. I have included many, many photos so you can get an idea of what it looks like.

As Mark and I were walking around we decided we should go to the art museum that is there because there is an exhibition that is there only until next Sunday. I was not prepared for how large the museum would be. First, we had to go up the escalator (I usually take the stairs, but wow…there were just sooo many of them) and then we came to the people mover. The lights above it changed colors and it almost looked like we were in some kind of ride at an amusement park.

The museum is so large, but when I looked around at the bamboo and cedar forest that was all around it, it appeared to be an appropriate size. Mark and I walked around the outside for a short time to see the area. It was just such a beautiful day that I was enjoying being outside. We headed up to the museum entrance where we realized that we would need a larger chunk of time to se the museum properly. We made the decision that we would return on Sunday, March 17^th first thing in the morning so we could spend the day looking at everything.

We ran into Kamlesh and Vishwany when we were heading to the shops. They had just arrived. We told them about the museum. I will have to check in with them to see if they were able to go and look around.

Mark and I were looking forward to going to Starbucks, which is always packed, to get one of their new seasonal cherry blossom drinks. We were happily surprised to see that the line was not very long at all. The weekend before when we went the line was so long we knew we didn’t want to wait in it. One of the employees was handing everyone menus as they got into the line. At that moment Mark and I knew why the line was so short. All of their cherry blossom seasonal drinks were sold out. What a bummer!!!! Mark and I were both so disappointed.

Shopping was the only thing that would help me to feel better. Isn’t that always the case? Shopping makes everything better, even if it is only window shopping. I bought a beautiful scarf that has cherry blossoms on it. I also bought my Ella Bell an adorable cherry blossom Hello Kitty t-shirt. It has pink cherry blossoms on it along with Hello Kitty wearing a pink kimono. Very, very cute! I just hope it fits her.

I was exhausted and so was Mark. We decided to head back to the train station. Since I will be returning next weekend I know I can look at the shops a little more at that time. I am looking forward to going into the museum. I might even get lucky, and make it to Starbucks while they still have their beverages.

Enjoy the photos. There are a lot of them. I just can’t describe in words how beautiful Dazaifu looks right now. If you ever come to Fukuoka this is a must see. I will be taking my mother there when she is here next October.