This trip took place from March 25 through April 4, 2010. 9 nights on the ground with air travel figured in. I am going to do a pictorial trip report for this time around as I know you all may be tired of reading my stories about Japan. A picture is worth a thousand words they say so this should be good for a few........enjoy

http://tinyurl.com/y9qdt8y

Aloha!

Beautiful pictures! I don`t know about all that fishy food though!

Excellent and thank you for sharing. Now I must try and visit during the blossoms next year.

How long does the blossoms last Peter?

Pook, they last for about two weeks from bloom till ground. The timing depends on where in Japan you go to. See this site for this years scheduled blooms and you will see the pattern:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html

Aloha!

Wonderful photos, HT. Thanks for sharing. We'll get to Japan one of these days - looks like cherry blossom season is a great time to go...

Doitashimasite and yes Craig you really should,Jeane(and camera) would have a field day, literally,lol

Aloha!

Fantastic pictures. The food is exactly what we enjoy. Octopus, Calimari, Sea Urchin, Blowfish? Osaka looks great.Rick and Rachel

By the way, where is Oeno Park?Is it like this all of the time or just during the Cherry Blossums?

ht, great pics. i like the kani nigiri, and the kani to take away. i wonder if you can eat them as you walk.jackie scolds me everytime i do this. she says its not nice.

checking for hotels for next year, and maybe even go to kyoto-osaka.

ueno park is in tokyo, easy to get to. and it only blooms during cheery blossom time.

What wonderful photos, Peter! One of these years CHeryl and I will get to japan for Sakura.

Our cherry trees in our garden here in Seattle are about 50% open today - the double pinks.

Great photos! The food looks amazing. Makes me want to go even more, but the airfare for July or August is just astronomical. Still hoping...

Thanks all. Airfare gets cheap at many times during the year. This trip cost us 605.00 r/t HNL/NRT.

Hanuman and others had asked me in an earlier post to put up more food pictures. Here are some of the food pics we took this time around. A varied group of photos to say the least,lol.....

http://tinyurl.com/yb78rzf

Aloha!

ht, mahalo for all the food(kau kau) pics. i like the fish on the sticks. sort of reminds me of having the ayu(sweetfish) on a stick, rafting down on the mogami river in yamagata.

also, the saba(akule). you've never had saba sashimi till you have it in tokyo. delicious.

btw, i'm surprised that you took a pic of a manhole cover. nice pic. a friend of mine took a trip to japan for a year, taking pictures of decorative manhole covers throughout japan, and will be publishing a book about them. i've also taken a few photos of interesting and colorful manhole covers in tokyo.

one day, you must teach me how to use smugmug so i can post all of my pics. of course, some may not be suitable for women and children. lol.

Boston had its own sakura festival this week. The Esplanade along the Charles River was in full bloom, a sea of pinks and whites. Bostonians haven't caught on to the notion, though, that it's an excellent idea to take a day or two off from work and mob the area to enjoy the spectacle.

HT: Wow, the photos are gorgeous, your timing of visiting is right on!

oishikatta desu.

More great pics! What exactly is Oden?

Airfare from LAX to Tokyo is about $1100 right now for July.

Kristina,Thanks, Oden is a Japanese winter soup dish with a dashi base and soy sauce. Ingredients include daikon, various types of fishcakes,boiled eggs, konnyaku,tofu,various seaweeds, etc. Odens' contents vary from prefecture to prefecture and you will always find some simmering pots in local food and convenience stores during the winter months especially the 7-11's and Lawson's throughout Japan. Lawson's in smaller towns off the well beaten tourists paths are actually a great place to have a light and inexpensive breakfast, lunch or dinner. Most are setup so they have tables for you to eat right in the store and serve various simple Japanese homemade comfort foods which are cheap and hit the spot. You just have to remember to return your trays and dishes to the right window when you are done.

Wow the prices from LAX are pretty rough during those months but try for late Nov early Dec for a nice time to visit and better prices usually. Great fall coloring in the Tokyo Kyoto corridor during those times.

Aloha!

Hai Marasan, oishikatta!

You must be getting excited to be leaving in a few days? happy hiking!

Aloha!