Hanami time: Viewing flowers in Kyoto

Day 2 in Japan.  It was a good day for viewing blossoms!

Cherry Blossoms at the Imperial Palace

Kyoto was the Imperial capital of Japan for many years, until the capital shifted to Kyoto.  But as a result, Kyoto has many historical buildings, mystical gardens and peaceful temples. We visited only a small fraction of the many beautiful buildings but the Imperial Palace was a must-see on our list.

Serenity of a Japanese Garden

Access to the Imperial Palace is normally restricted - visitors to the Palace must sign up for a guided tour.  But twice a year, the Palace is open to the public - one week in spring, and the other in the fall.  We were lucky enough that our visit coincided with the spring "Open House" for the palace.  So there we went, ourselves and thousands of other visitors, Japanese and tourists alike.  There were special performances scheduled for the morning in the palace grounds.  So we went to watch, us and probably half the visitors in the palace.  We lined up around the performance dais and found that we still could not see the performers with ease.  After a while, we gave up and decided to explore the beauties palace and its grounds instead.

 The Palace is a collection of sprawling buildings, including an imposing Imperial throne hall in a gigantic

The Imperial Throne Hall

courtyard surrounded by brightly coloured orange pillars.  Smaller halls surround this main hall, and there is a small, exquisite little garden alongside - the Emperor's private garden.There were mannikins arramged in one of the halls, to illustrate how the members of the Imperial court would have lived. The bustle in the Palace was probably quite similar to what the place must have been like when Kyoto was the capital city of Japan. But I would like to come back, another time, when there are fewer people and the Palace is restored to its normal state of peace and tranquility.

We wandered outside, through the park surrounding the Palace, to the small little food fair which was set up just beside the exit. It was selling mainly snacks - sweets, pickles, cakes, nuts and many other things including sake.  Bought a green tea ice cream :-)

Artists and the Cherry Tree

But what was really pleasant to see were the people enjoying the beautiful weather, and the holiday atmosphere of the park - small groups of friends and family were sitting in the park, on benches and the ground. People were playing with their children, or walking their dogs - and a small colony of artists were painting the cherry trees! 

We finally found a magical little dell with weeping cherry blossom trees shedding petals on the ground below.  Our little hanami viewing party of two settled beneath our own cherry tree. Unfortunately we had no food but we sat and watched the petals fall on our mat, our bags and ourselves.  Around us, people were sitting and chatting, and having a good time catching up.  It was a delightful time.

Tulips in the Kyoto Botanical Gardens

After the Palace, we went to the Kyoto Botanical Gardens, a few tube stops away.  We had a pleasant surprise - brilliant, brightly coloured tulips were on show.  But of course we were there for one thing - and we were not disappointed as we discovered the enchanted grove of weeping cherry trees (fast becoming my favourite cherry tree variety). The trees were burdened with the most beautiful pale pink flowers, with the deeper pink buds alongside, the branches falling down like a gentle little curtain around us.

Going through the cherry tree groves, it is indeed very clear why the Japanese so love the cherry blossom.  Indeed, even after a whole day looking at and photographing these fragile blooms, I too must admit to becoming a very big fan.   So, here is a little video taken in the Imperial Palace park which I think captures perfectly the atmosphere in the grounds.  And one last photo taken in the Kyoto Botanical Gardens.  More photos can also be seen on my Flickr page, as I slowly update it.  Enjoy!  

Kyoto Botanical Gardens