Hanami

You might have thought we were so busy playing in New Zealand that we missed out on the cherry blossom season in Tokyo...but you'd be wrong!  We made it back in time to enjoy the full season...and to get ready for our first guests (more on that another time).

This is supposed to be the busiest tourist time in Tokyo, but I didn't really see a difference in the number of visitors here.  There are more people at the parks and gardens, but they aren't overly crowded.  We had beautiful weather as the blooms started coming out.  

The season lasted for just under two weeks.  It ran over two weekends this year, which made it nice for those who work! 





I started out at the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden.  This is right beside the Tokyo Dome, but once you're inside you would never realize it (well, except for the roller coaster in the background).  I love the skyscrapers framing the gardens - the juxtaposition of the modern with the ancient.  

You can see the flowers are just starting to peek out here.

A few days later we're over at Senso-ji Temple, and the sakura are popping out there, too.  The shops even have sprays of cherry blossoms decorating their roof lines.

So pretty!

The next weekend we decide to check out Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.  It's our first time there.  It seems more like a park versus a Japanese garden (though there is one small section of J.G.).  There is a small fee to enter and dogs and alcohol are not allowed.  That didn't hold anyone back from having a hanami (cherry blossom viewing) party!

Can we join your party?

 
The weather this weekend (and for the peak of flower viewing) is overcast.  No rain or strong winds, so lots of blossoms on the trees, but not the picture perfect type of day that makes you just happy to be outdoors.  The scenery is gorgeous though - I can see why sakura viewing becomes a national event.

We don't hold back from getting our picture with the blooms... 

Who are all these people in my picture?

Steve had to shove people aside to be by himself. (Not really - they are actually very polite and wait for you to finish before moving in to take their own photo).

One common aspect of Japanese gardens is a branch (or more) hanging over a water feature. 

Can you even take a bad picture in a Japanese garden?

From our trip I realized there are several colors of flowers.  I'll have to look up the different types of trees!

almost white

pale pink

true pink

They are planted in groves, not just individually.

Hey, why don't the trees have any leaves?

We even managed to take a group selfie!

We are actually surrounded by hundreds of people while taking this picture.  Good editing!

We also had to check out Aoyama Cemetary.  Apparently they used to have hanami parties here and then the government said maybe they shouldn't be having parties with lots of alcohol while sitting on the graves. 

I had to pose with the trees again!

And at our own little local park, we have this tree - I have no idea what it's actually called, but I named it pom pom blooms.  The dark pink sakura are all clustered together to form a ball.  These are the final types of trees to bloom.

Is it against the law to pick the flowers?

Once the petals fall, it looks like a watercolor picture..

But don't worry about the cherry blossoms going away - the tulips are coming out next!

I also learned it's okay to have hanami parties at night, too!

Looking forward to seeing them again next year!

Final Day

Have to get my fill of Bluff oysters before we leave!

Our final day in New Zealand!  Our flight is not until the evening so we spend some time in downtown Auckland.  I finally find another shop I've been looking for - locally made arts & crafts by various artists.  Elephant House has all the things I've been searching for.  Luckily we have room in our suitcases!  Speaking of packing....we found out we still have nine bottles of wine, not the six we thought (a bag had rolled under a seat in the car).  Looks like we'll pay some duty when we arrive in Japan.  





We do a little more shopping and wander around the waterfront.  I see the cutest little book swap/library.  Looks like Auckland has also found a use for some of the shipping containers.  Mostly I read on my Kindle now, but I still love physical books!





















We then walk through the Maritime Museum.  This gets Steve in the right frame of mind for our afternoon activity - a sailboat trip around the Harbor.  We have a brisk breeze and it's partly cloudy...perfect!



 



I'm able to take some photos of downtown as we sail around.  Steve is a little busy though!  The captain asked if anyone wanted to drive the boat and several people volunteered.  Then it was Steve's turn, and the captain could tell he knew what he was doing, so he was in charge for almost a quarter of the ride. 

Captain Steve

Auckland Skytower and waterfront

The Cloud at Queen's Wharf

While Steve is busy with the boat I'm acting as a lookout for boat traffic practicing my selfie skills.

O Captain!  My Captain!

After our final adventure we're ready to go home and see the dogs.  Once again we arrive early at the airport but we had a late flight (11:00pm) and we wanted to make sure traffic, etc wouldn't be a problem.  Plus, we had access to the business lounge, and we wanted to shower before the flight.  So we turn in our car (no accidents - sigh of relief), and go to check in...only to find out it's like Europe...you can't check in unless it's within three hours of your flight.  Ugh!   And we've dropped the keys off to the car, so we can't go anywhere.

Clean...sleepy....

I'm hot, salty, and sticky from the day on the water.  I was really looking forward to that shower and don't feel like sitting three hours (I said we were early) before we can get to the lounge.  I have a brainstorm - maybe there are showers before security.  I check with information...and there are!  For $10 we're able to get a towel and soap and access to the shower cubicle.  I feel much better!

Once we're situated on our China Southern plane and fed (some of the best plane food I've ever had) I'm all set to get some sleep.  As usual, it's only a few hours, but it's better than none.  After an awesome breakfast (mushroom tart) it's close to landing.  I'm reading on the Kindle, but I pull up the map to see how close we are to the airport.  I glance up every few minutes, and then I become a little disturbed...

The plane is in the center of the screen

See in the upper right corner - Guangzhou?  That's where we're supposed to be landing for our connecting flight to Tokyo.  It's about 10 minutes since we flew past it.  No one (flight attendants, pilots) has said anything.  I'm starting to have some scary thoughts, but I decide to wait and see.  Our flight path does not reassure me...

You can't even see Guangzhou anymore - it's off to the east.

Now I'm ready  to say something, but the pilot finally comes on with an announcement.  Due to bad weather we're diverting to another airport.  I vaguely remember a few rumbles but then the plane shifted elevation and I figured we were out of it.  That must have been when we changed course.

Are we still in China?

Neither Steve nor I have been in this situation before.  I check with the flight attendants, but they don't know anything.  We end up flying another 25 minutes to land in Haikou.  We sit there for a few hours, without pulling up to the gate.  If you're stuck on the runway business class is where you want to be.  We have access to drinks, snacks, bathrooms, inflight entertainment (Steve got to watch a bonus movie) and power to our electronic devices.  We're able to use Steve's phone to check flights, and we watch our flight to Tokyo take off while we're still stuck on the runway.  We do see a flight a few hours later, so we're hoping we can make that one.

Just what I want to see - back to the originally scheduled airport!

We finally take off (obviously no three hour rule in China requiring planes to unload) and fly 45 minutes back to Guangzhou.  We end up having to wait in a long line before getting up to the counter.  She types for a few minutes, then tells us we need to step aside and wait for a manager.  Eek!  The manager finally comes over and says there are no seats available on the next China Southern flight so they're going to see if they can get us on another flight.  She asks for her passports, then runs in to a room.  A few minutes later she comes out again, without our passports, talks to other passengers, talks to the counter people and goes back to the room.  This goes on for about 20 minutes and we're looking at the other people who are also standing around waiting like we are.  Some people were in worse situations as they're flying to far flung sites with only one flight a day.  

Finally our manager comes back and says they can get us on a Japan Airlines flight taking off in a couple of hours.  However, she has to go to the Japan Airlines counter with our passports in order to get the tickets.  And we can't come with her.  Hmmm....this is not a situation I want to be in - trapped in China with no passports.  She does lead us to a nice lounge to wait. At first we're okay...but when it's 45 minutes before the flight we are very nervous.  We talk to the staff and they tell us not to worry.  Yeah, right.  We figure they're already boarding the flight.  But five minutes later somebody else shows up with our passports and tickets and it turns out the gate is only a couple minutes walk away.  We happily board the plane to go home.

Once we land, we head to the Customs line for items to declare (something else we've never had to do before).  We tell him we have nine bottles of wine, and he pulls out a calculator.  He never asks to see the bottles, and we're kind of glad - we packed them carefully and it would have taken some digging to get to them.  He finishes up, and holds up the calculator to show how much we owe - $4!  We smile, tell him okay, and he escorts us to the cashier.  Maybe we should have just brought all the wine with us instead of shipping it back...

Unfortunately, due to the delay the dogs had to stay an extra night at the kennel.  We were very happy to have them back the next day!  It's a relief to hear they had a good time at "doggie camp."  They made friends and had lots of play time.

Look at my pretty, dainty paws!

You first!  No, you first!

Even his ears go flying!

I didn't know a dog's head could rotate this much.

Bush and Beach

Bright eyed & bushy tailed at the start of the day!

We leave the caves to head to our final stop in New Zealand - Auckland!  I know, it seems like we've moved down here, but we only have a couple of days left of our vacation.  Steve has mastered driving on the left over the past two weeks and has no problems with the Auckland traffic.  It's actually nice to be back in a city again!  We stay at a B&B in Parnell, a pleasant neighborhood area about a mile from downtown and the harbor.

 It's interesting staying in the B&Bs because we're able to have more in depth conversations with locals and other visitors.  One of the big events going on while we're in New Zealand is the vote for the country's flag.  Everyone has definite opinions regarding changing it or leaving it the same, and has a strong theory on other people's choices, too.  It sounds to us like the flag will be changed....but the final count is in favor of keeping it the same.   So you'll still have to count the stars to tell the difference between the NZ & Australia flags.

We take the day to hike around the rainforest and beaches to the east of Auckland.  Hard to believe this is all within a 30 minute drive of the busiest city in New Zealand!  Our first stop is at the Arataki Visitor Center.  From here you have some pretty views of the bays around Auckland.  We then tramp along the cliffs for some dramatic scenery. 

Don't slip!

Next we trek to Karekare Falls in the western part of the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park....because we haven't seen enough waterfalls yet!  What's fun about this one is the popular swimming hole at its base.  We didn't know to bring our swimsuits, but the cold water feels good on our feet after the uphill climb.  Some people are rappelling down beside the waterfall - how did I miss signing up for that!

Not another one!

Deja vu..

The return walk downhill is relaxing and Steve manages to conquer a troublesome rock.

Another version of rock climbing

Can I grow these at home?

I love the forest!  It feels almost prehistoric, and there's very few people around (other than at the waterfall).  My favorite are the ferny palms - they are anywhere from a few feet high to twenty-five feet.  

Is that a triceretops peeking out?

Bubbling creek - I haven't seen that before in New Zealand (ha!)

1000 year old tree!

Steve is crouching in the stump of a kauri tree.  These are humongous trees growing to 165 ft, with girths of over 50 ft.  They live for about 2000 years (maybe not this one).  We see a live one later in the day, estimated to be around 1000 years old.

Steve is too tall to be a hobbit - he bumped his head coming out of the trunk.

Close-up of the sand

After a lunch break we go to the black sand of Piha beach.  The sand is very dark, but I'd actually classify it as more of a brown then a black.  It has a metallic sheen to it though, which my camera cannot quite pick up.  It's known for surfers, but we don't see anyone out there today.  The swim area is very narrow - the lifeguards have the flags cordoning off a region only about 50 feet wide. There have also been multiple movies filmed here.

I can't resist putting my feet in the Tasman Sea! 

Pedicure still looks good!

And the beach selfie

 

Mussels piled on the rocks.  Lunch!  Darn it, we already ate.

  

Love looking up in the canopy!

We go on last one hike in the rainforest near Piha.  More ferny trees!

Many different types of trees - I lost count!

We're not really bushwhacking - there's a path through the rainforest.

I finally got a good shot of the famous New Zealand silver fern.  I flipped up the tip so I could see the silvery backside.

Only one more day left before we fly home to Japan....or so we thought...