Time Flies, Flowers Fly Faster

These are a few pictures from a glorious spring day, April 17th.  There are only a few days when the sakura are in relatively full bloom before they begin to fall and change to leaves.  That ephemeral nature takes on a pretty huge role in Japanese culture and the sakura season took on an added poignancy this year because of the earthquake and tsunami.  

These pictures are all from a couple of my typical biking routes near my apartment.  I am going to miss this next year, no question.

The petals already start to fall and accumulate in the river.

The next few pictures are from one of my favorite places in the neighborhood, an often overlooked riverside park and picnic area.  It's difficult to describe how suspended, dreamlike, and lovely it was that day.

My lunch.