Cherries are not the only blossom

It's that time of year again. Japanese armed with cameras (or keiteis, as in the photo above) and picnic blankets are out in full force for hanami. Last Wednesday, I finally did something I had been wanting to do for some time: I walked from our neighbourhood all the way to Otemachi. Along the way I took in some sights I had not seen before, such as Kita-no-maru Park and the East Gardens of the Emporer's Palace. Here are some shots of flowers I found just as worthy as the esteemed sakura:

On Thurday, I met up with Abby and Harriet and took them on a tour of parts of my neighbourhood. Abby was in town for the week visiting with Joel & Harriet -- all of whom I met during the year I spent in St. Andrews -- the common link between us all is the Atholl... and, of course, George. I met them at Hongo San-Chome station and took them to Yushima shrine. Then we continued downhill to Shinobazu Pond where the shrine was looking better than ever after being newly painted over the winter months.
Walking around Shinobazu reminded me of when Bettina arrived last year. I picked her up at the airport and when we reached Ueno we somehow managed to brave the crowds around Shinobazu pond with her luggage in tow to meet up with Stefan and the kids. Sigh, I have missed Bettina terribly these past few months. Fortunately, we shall be in the same country again soon!

After walking past the shrine, the three of us then walked up into Ueno Park to check out the cherry blossom madness. It's always amusing to go in the morning and see all the lackeys saving hanami locations for their colleagues. A kind gentleman offered to take a picture of the three of us together (using Abby's new cam, I think), but as I don't have a copy of it yet, you'll have to make do with a shot taken by Abby on my camera of Harriet & me.
We were getting hungry by this time so we hopped onto the Oedo line and headed to the Moomin Cafe & Bakery for lunch. After a good gossip and loads of bread, we went up Bunkyo Civic Tower for the view. I pointed out our next destination:
Koishikawa Garden - the fancy one, not the Botanical Gardens. I saved the Botanical Gardens for Stefan and the kids. We went there for a picnic lunch on Sunday and it was the busiest we'd ever seen it. This is the location where we will be hosting our Easter Picnic with friends from the kids' nursery next weekend:
It shouldn't be this busy next weekend as the blossoms will be past their peak. Instead, it should - if all goes as planned - be like confetti on the crowd for the kids to play with. Fingers crossed we don't get rained out!

Sunday, however, we did not stop here. We found a much quieter corner and had our hanami under this lovely Camellia - flowers that Lukas absolutely loves!
The kids were really sweet during our lunch - sitting quietly on our blanket. After the meal we played ball for a bit, then went for a stroll. Lukas & Anna love the ponds. Here they are checking out some carp:

And this is the view from the bridge they are on: