Hanami in High Park

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Hanami is blossom-viewing, most famously cherry blossom-viewing, in Japanese. A few years ago Tomiko and I spent a month in Tokyo and enjoyed picnics under the blossoming trees. This year, we stayed in Toronto and bicycled to High Park to take in the beautiful views and take advantage of the first beautiful weekend of the year.

The buds were just beginning to flower, and the flowers will be at their peak in the next few days or so.

We cycled to the park on our first bike ride of the summer! My bike is in the background and Tomiko’s folding bike is in the foreground. I don’t know why so many people drove their cars, since it seemed like parking was horrendous but the weather was gorgeous. There is nothing as invigourating as cycling quickly with the sun on your skin and the wind in your hair!

It is barren compared to hanami in Tokyo, where every square inch of ground is covered with picnickers – families, work colleagues, friends, all drinking, dressed up, eating, no matter the weather. It was nice to actually see the green grass here though. Unfortunately we didn’t pack a picnic (we biked here just after having Mother’s Day brunch), but we would have loved to idle under the blossoms, drinking lemonade, napping or reading or listening to music.

After strolling among the sakura, we walked around High Park and saw the animals at the High Park Zoo. We also ran into this little fellow, rustling among the leaves.