Mimi and I had the chance to Hanami (花見) at night (technically called yozakura – 夜桜) with a nicely sized group of friends who chose to visit the Sankeien Sakura Night. While the garden is beautiful and calming during the day, it becomes a bit dreamlike at night when the flowers and three-tiered pagoda are selectively lit. Because the season started a bit early in the Kanto region, some of the petals have started to blow off the trees creating a snow-like effect, adding to the aura. I look forward to experiencing more of this famous spring pastime when we visit Kyoto. It will definitely become a source of nostalgia when looking back at times spent here.
The entrance to Sankeien garden. The streets were dusted with Sakura petals.
You were greeted by this surreal scene of the Sankeien pagoda a few steps after the entrance.
There were lots of lanters hung from the vine trellises
There was a variety of lighting illuminating the sakura.
Some sakura snow along the path.
You can just barely make out the covered seating areas for people to picnic behind the trees.
Despite the constant breeze, the ponds provided some pretty nice reflections.
I had to wait a while to snap this as the branches kept blowing in the wind.
The pagoda was undoubtedly the main draw aside from the blossoms. Unfortunately the path leading to it was not lit and closed at 17:00.
This weeping cherry tree and the stone pagoda created quite a nice atmosphere. I wish we could lay beneath it and look into the sky.
We grabbed a bottle of sakura wine to enjoy in the park with our friends.
One last view of the pagoda with some pinkish blossoms.
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