Nago Cherry Blossom Festival

It's been quite sometime since my last entry..about a year actually LOL but I've decided I'm gonna restart writing my blog again. This way I can keep all my friends updated on what's happening here in Japan.

One of the biggest things for me is the opportunity to view Cherry Blossoms. When I think about Japan, cherry blossoms are one of the things that come to my mind. The cherry blossoms usually bloom in Okinawa during mid January and can extend to March. During this period of time, people will go "ohanami" (cherry blossom viewing).

However, things are a little different here in Okinawa compared to mainland Japan like Tokyo. For one, the cherry blossom trees are a slightly different species. I was told that the cherry blossom trees here are from Taiwan. They are bright pink in color and are much heavier and tend to just fall off the trees as opposed to the ones from mainland which are much lighter in color and 'float' off the trees.

This is what they look like here in Okinawa

Apart from that in mainland Japan, families, friends and colleagues usually have picnics under the cherry blossom trees whereas in Okinawa, things are more festival like. It is more common for Okinawans to go for a drive in the country and view the cherry blossoms from their car. There are also cherry blossom festivals carried out throughout this season in different parts of Okinawa. This year we went to the Cherry Blossom Festival at Nago. It was about an hours drive.

Me mucking around with my camera during the drive.

Rolls and rolls of colorful stalls are set up along the roads of a particular area that is full of cherry blossom trees. The stalls consist of game stalls and food stalls. Most of these stalls sell pretty much the same thing. There is also a stage whereby there are performances and music so it's really festival-like.

See the colorful stalls on the right of the pic? The whole stretch of road is just lined up with these stalls.

This is what I'm holding in my hand - a strawberry covered in candy and sugar. Close-up of what the stalls look like. They pretty much sell the same things like yakisobi, yakitori, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, chahan, hot-dog and fries etc.

Here you can see people cooking at the stalls.
We had this grilled scallop and chicken from the stall operated by the Marriott Hotel. I know the pics don't look that appealing but it tasted good though!

At the end of the stretch of road and stalls, is a hill with a flight of stairs all the way to the top. All along the hill are cherry blossom trees. Very pretty!

Here are some pics...
Half-way to the top of the hill, Reid tried to take a decent pic of me but we failed. It was just too windy!

At the very top of the hill is a little shrine. We prayed or made a little wish by first putting monetary offerings into the box. Next, ringing the bell once and bowing twice followed by clapping twice in prayer and thinking of your wish. End by bowing once. Although I don't practice the Shinto religion, it was nice to take part in the ritual.

Here's a video of how it's done

How-to-pray
by japan4000

I was really surprised that I managed to make it to the very top and back down with my high-heeled boots! LOL (^_^)