Food, Flowers, and Festivals = Fun: 2017-04-13 Sakura at Hikone Castle and a trip to USJ

When I returned to Japan (through the airport in Nagoya for the first time - nice) I met my friend Shioli in Hikone and even though it was very overcast we decided to go to the river and castle to see the sakura. One of the things that makes sakura time so special is that it's somewhat unpredictable and it can be very short. Since the forecast was for rain the next day - which can make the blossoms fall - and since the reason I stayed in Japan was to see them, I thought I'd better not take a chance. As it turns out they made it through the rain so we went back. Which means, as usually during this time of year, I took TONS of pictures. If you don't like cherry blossoms you might want to skip this and the next couple of posts! Otherwise, even though you can't get the true feeling of being surrounded by all these beautiful pink (or white), fluffy, blossoms of joy (I really really love them), enjoy.

The Seri River

Hikone Castle

My favorite view.

Shioli

Then we drove 'home' to a town called Maibara. I stayed with Shioli's family for the week.

She took me to her favorite places.

This is the street Shioli used to walk down on her way to and from school.

The yellow is nanohana (rape flowers).

Shioli's mom had been wanting to go to Universal Studios Japan (USJ). I don't care for amusement parks but I have wanted to go to Harry Potter World, and I probably won't get to Florida so off we went. It's usually VERY crowded but it was a Thursday so it really wasn't and we had very short, if any waits.