Happy Easter, Hanami starts in Utsunomiya, Kate in Yokohama....

Well it is still getting below freezing at night in Utsunomiya. We had one week of warmer weather to tease us, but last week was really cold. The ice pillars are still forming in the ground from the freezing temperatures at night. One morning in particular they were taller than I have ever seen. Mostly from the frequent rain and cold temperatures we had last week.

Happy Easter to all. Kate had the Shionome san's children over last week and they colored easter eggs from one of the kits Anthony brought last year. On Easter the children both got small baskets with an assortment of candy in them.

Kate went to Tokyo and Yokohama for a girls weekend get away. As a result the children and I had time together. This weekend marked the start of Hanami in Utsunomiya. That is the cherry blossom festival. I did not see any blossoms until Friday evening so we are just really at the start, they should be in full bloom next weekend. To kick things off the children and I went to a park close to work. The festival food stands were already set up and operating and the park was open. All the decorations are out just waiting for the blooms.

I snagged this picture to show that there are a few out, but most are just on the verge of blooming. This week and next the road in front of work will be beautiful.

We stayed and played at the park for hours before everyone decided we should move on. The weather was nice, but still on the cool side maybe next week the weather will be warmer. Next week Saturday is the Motegi bike race so we will have to enjoy the blooms on Sunday.

On Sunday the children and I loaded into the Diva and went for a drive. We picked the closest mountain we could see and drove toward it. It was a fun adventure and we actually stumbled onto a temple at the top of the mountain that we ended up at.

After parking the car we walked up a load of steps to get to the top. The view was great and we all agreed the exercise was good.

The children have already asked to go back another time. I am thinking the road will be good to use for training before the Fuji bicycle race in June.

Now for Kate's weekend..

Saturday, Reiko, Yamaguchi san, Nadine and myself (Katie) went down to Yokohama

for goodbye weekend for Nadine. One of our first stops was in China town.

While walking we spotted this quick stop for pets if they were thirsty....there were a lot of dogs around. Some are walking, dressed up, being carried or in pet strollers.

We took a bus ride to get to a sakura boat ride. The Sakura are in full bloom in Tokyo this weekend and were beautiful to see as we passed them on the streets.

Our boat....

Drinking and eating for 2 hours on the river. The Sakura were incredible as were the food and the company. This was the first time I drank beer since college.

The food on the cruise was great. There was a variety of different foods to try like..crab, duck, clams etc. There was even a plate of sashimi that was delicious.

They also continued to serve us 10 different servings of tempura...yum. :)

We passed a shop while walking to Shibuya that had these beautiful cakes/pies. I didn't check the price but they were made of cake and fruit and looked very expensive.

We also made a stop at the Yebisu beer museum. It tour was $5 and included two glasses of beer. That is really a pretty good deal, especially for Tokyo.

Yebisu beer was started in 1887. I took a picture of one of the signs explaining a little history about the company. If you find it to be too small double click it to enlarge.

Trying the beer....and the 2nd time I've had beer since college.

I found this KitKat in Lawsons in Yokohama to share with the family. It is a sakura (cherry blossom) Kit Kat. They were green in color and actually tasted like green tea rather than sakura. We can now check off pudding and sakura Kit Kats off of the list.

Have a good week..