Hanami: Cherry Blossom Viewing

So today I was invited by Sam to a Hanami. It sounded like some ominous ritual that I wasn't sure I wanted to dive straight into, that was until he explained that this was traditional event held across Japan to enjoy the beauty of the flowers, mainly cherry blossoms. In other words, a picnic under the blossoms. How wonderful!

Admitedly I had walked around Kanazawa a few days before and wondered what the huge blue plastic sheets pinned down to the grass were for. Well now I knew. These were reserved picnic sheets. Someone compared it to the Germans laying down their towels early in the morning to bag the best spot at the hotel pool..damn I used to hate it when that happened. At least in Kanazawa you're not confined to the small hotel poolside.

So boys will be boys and the picnic turned into a few cans of Chu-hi (an alcopop type drink, see post) on a sheet nowhere near the cherry blossoms but was nice anyway! The very next day I was invited to another Hanami by Cari along the Saigo river. It was such a beautifully hot day. Cool river, snow capped mountains as a backdrop. Not many things can beat that...

Leo Palace pad (exterior): Home for a year

OK so I had done my research before I left the UK and kind of knew I'd be spending the next year in an apartment I couldn't swing a cat in. It's how it is in Japan. So I had looked at a few studios in Kanazawa and plumped for one south of the city in a suburb called Nishi Izumi. It looked fairly easy to get to Katamatchi (main part of town) from there and also meant I could walk to Nishi Kanazawa station for my daily commute to Oyabe.

The first thing I noticed was that I was sourrounded by small fields, kind of like allotments. I'll get to those in another blog post as they turned out to be mini paddy fields, wicked! The apartment block was as I expected, a concrete block with minimal character. It didn't really faze me, I'm not in Japan to live in luxury residence! I did however immediately notice the beautiful, virbant pink cherry blossoms in a small park nearby.


Picture here shows the Leo Palace apartment block which looks so much prettier with the cherry blossoms in the forefront of the pic!

Despite looking like a prison block the inside was new, clean and very IKEA-esque. Small but not unbearably so. I was happy! (and to be no longer living out of a suitcase)

Video of outside of LeoPalace

For anyone who is looking at a Leo Palace then I've posted a video here.