Today, I went to Kyoto to take my regular painting lesson. When I walked through Kawaramachi, one of the the busiest area in downtown Kyoto, it was crowded with people.
I usually don't take the route that involves changing trains at Kawaramachi, but today I had no choice. That's because since my husband had been in Suzuka Curcit for enjoying Formula 1 races with a friend of his, he couldn't drove me to the nearest station. I had to went to my teacher's painting studio on my own. However, fortunately, I could enjoy viewing cherry blossoms there. They were just in full bloom. It was my first time seeing cherry blossoms in full bloom in Kyoto in a while.
When I was young, if we were lucky, we sometimes could see maiko (geisha's apprentice) or geisha in the evening in this area. Some of them were walking with other maiko or geisha while others were enjoying shopping. Back then, nobody had cellphones. I don't think they are walking around anymore because they have become way more popular. They don't like being chased by tourists trying to take pictures.
If I hadn’t had a painting lesson, I would’ve taken a walk around the area to fully enjoy the breathtaking cherry blossoms.
Since the cherry blossoms were so lovely, even though I had to head to my teacher's studio, I stopped to take some photos. Many other people had the same idea and were taking pictures as well.
When I arrived my teacher's studio, two of my friends were already there waiting. We exchanged some information about cherry blossoms and then started our lesson.
On the way to home, I bought traditional Japanese sweets for spring. One was ichigo daifuku ( a mochi filled with sweet red bean paste and a whole strawberry), and the other was sakura mochi ( a sweet rice cake with red bean paste wrapped in a cherry leaf). Since I live in the Kansai region, the sakura mochi in the picture below is the Kansai style. The Kanto version looks different. I love both styles, and they are some of my favorite Japanese sweets.
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The cherry blossoms are beautiful. Are they fragrant?
Thank you for asking. Some kinds of them are fragrant but not so strong.
I love mochi!! Strawberry's my favourite flavour. What does the sakura leaf taste like? I cannot imagine it's taste.
I don't like changing metro stations in Cairo as well. It's always stressful for me!
The cherry photos are breathtaking! Your post reminded me of a movie I watched a few years ago about a geisha. I think it's called "Memoirs Of A Geisha".
@via-chan The leaf tastes salty, so the sakura mochi has mixing salty and sweet flavor.
@Double-Zee I also watched the movie a couple of years ago, and I loved it. Have you read the book too? The book is much better than the movie.
Yikes! That looks so crowded! I hope it's not as crowded when I visit :)
No, I haven't.. thanks for the recommendation!
What a lovely view with all the cherry trees! We have here a big cherry tree area, close to my home in Spain. It's called Valle del Jerte.
@Ersatzjello Kawaramachi is always crowded, but when you visit, I hope not too!
@Double-Zee You are welcome!
@kaperucito It must be very pretty! I hope you'll write about the area sometime soon! Thank you for sharing.