It’s a new day, and therefore time for some old pictures, lol! These are pictures that I took during my “long silence” this winter.. Actually, the day before what would have been my 2-year anniversary with you-know-who.
But what simpler way to feel better about yourself than to spend time with friends and pretty flowers? Something that I adore about Japan is the copious amount of flowers that appear every Spring. It’s a bit of a bane to my nose, as I suffer from hayfever (I’m currently dying from lack of breath as I type this), but they’re nice to look at, anyways! In this case though, they’re not cherry blossoms (sakura), but instead plum blossoms (ume)!
To me, they look more-or-less the same. Sometimes I hear people say that plum blossoms are whiter than cherry blossoms, but I’ve seen plenty of white cherry blossoms, and as you’ll see, plenty of dark pink plum blossoms! It all depends on the breed, I think.
And in a few months, just imagine all of the amazing plums that will be hanging from those branches.. Yummmm….
For more information about where I went, and lots of gorgeous pictures, click the link below!!
My good friend Adele was the one who invited me out, and I’m glad that I did!
We headed out to Ome, a station way up in Ibaraki, about two hours from Tokyo, for their annual Ume Matsuri. It was rainy and chilly, so luckily there weren’t many people! That’s a welcome change from past years when it’s been packed with wall-to-wall people, so much so that it was hard just to move.
The matsuri (festival) has a homepage here:
http://www.omekanko.gr.jp/ume/matsuri.htm (japanese only)
Map:
Directions: You need to make your way to Hinatawada station, on the JR Ome line. The thick black-and-white striped line on the top right-hand side of the map has a box on it. That box is Hinatawada station.
Out of the station, you want to go right and then left when you reach the street with the bridge on it. From then, follow the map towards the large red area at the bottom. That’s the Ume blossom park. It’s about a 15 minute walk, or faster if you walk quickly, but plan to leave plenty of time. It also costs 200 yen to enter the park (about $2 USD), but that’s hopefully not a big deal! If you’re lucky and you come on a festival day, there are often dances and displays, etc, happening on that red street on the map.
When: The dates change every year, but generally it goes from the middle of February through the end of March.
And now for pictures!
The sign in Hinatawada station announcing that the plum festival is going on:
I just liked my friend Adele’s yellow sweater 
Some more shots from the station:
And from the scenery on the way to the park:
Adele brought us some kit kats, yum! Friends, flowers, and chocolate, who could ask for a better pick-me-up?
Crossing the river. I always stop to admire the valley. It reminds me of where I grew up in the US.
I thought this elderly gentleman had a rather whimsical fashion sense. Maybe he was dressing to match the flowers?
I tried a lot of different styles of photography this time, since photographing flowers can get a little bit repetitive. Any favorites?
A sign for local konnyaku and umeboshi. Konnyaku is kind of like a gelatin made from seaweed. It’s pretty much flavorless, but is always packed in really rancid-smelling water (it smells like fishing docks, if you know what I mean). If you wash it and boil it, though, it’s great for you. A lot of fiber and basically no calories!
Umeboshi are pickled plums. They’re really sour, and really salty. I don’t like vinegar, so I can’t stand them, but they’re popular among Japanese people, and even among a lot of visitors, it seems!
The sign says “Space available.”
Ya think?
“Belly button buns.” LOLOL
They sound like something out of Harry Potter.
Me! It was chilly, so I still had my winter coat.
Brown?
A japanese graveyard. Anyone interested in me taking pictures at a graveyard sometime?
The sign to “Ume park.”
It had started to rain pretty hard, so we stopped by an interestingly-named cafe on the way back…. XP
Any favorite pictures?
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I absolutely love the photos. So many of them were beautifully done!
first of all “welcome back!!!” I’m so happy to see you posting again. I looove your pictures, especially the ones where the colour of the flowers is more accentuated. I don’t know if that was actually their colour or it’s because of some photography technique, all I know is that it left me breathless for a few seconds and then it filled me with happiness for some reason.
)
you got my vote for taking more picks in a graveyard ^^ (yeah, I know, I’m a freak). I did that too once since I came to the UK. I like those gothic type churches and the fact that the graveyards have a lot of statues. for some reason I love to take pics of those statues, especially because most of them are of angels. there’s something rather poetic in a dark kind of way about those angel statues that have begun to change colour due to the passing of time (and probably all the rain too).
since I don’t have a camera, I took pics with my phone, therefore I didn’t have zoom on it. so I had to go inside the graveyard to take closeup pictures of the statues and the few people that happened to pass by were giving me strange looks. I got out of there as fast as I could because I figured they might end up calling the police or something
sorry for the long rant! I’m really happy to see you active again. big hugs for you!!
Thanks, Madalina! ^^
Most of the pictures I didn’t do any editing to in terms of color. They were just really vibrant that day, and the cloudy sky probably helped accentuate that a little bit. ^^
You’re making me want to go and find a graveyard in my neighborhood tonight and take pictures. It’s the first warmish night this year, so maybe I will! ^^
Woah! It’s so beautiful! Is it common to have different kinds of festivals along the year in japan? If so what’s your favourite?
I like pictures 14 and 24
Yep! To be honest, I feel like a festival is a festival, they all seem pretty much the same to me, lol! So I don’t really have a favorite!
I love all these pictures, but the best ones are of you
You’re so photogenic! You cannot take a bad picture, ever!
We have a few apple trees around here and they are very similar to plum and cherry trees I think. Beautiful white flowers all over. They are late blooming this year though, I’ve been waiting impatiently to go take some pictures.
Thanks for sharing with us Jamie!
You only think that because I don’t post the bad ones! ;D
http://www.jamieism.com/img/201203/omeumematsuri24.jpg That is my favorite flower shot. Something about how very sharp the flowers looks makes me like it a lot.
I missed these kinds of posts, where you have happy faces in pictures, and there are a lot of pictures. Haha! ^^
Adele’s sweater was absolutely lovely, you’re right!
Thanks Alyse!
I’ll make sure Adele sees this comment ^.^
I missed ume mostly this year, but it’s ok as I got a whole bunch of sakura instead!
Woah, that tea looks so yummy!
Now I want to drink some nice herb tea.
It’s really tough to choose a favorite!
I do like the photos with you on it and that raindrop effect?!
Like this one: http://www.jamieism.com/img/201203/omeumematsuri55.jpg
Ooh, thanks! Yes, I loved your photos too! It’s the first time I’d heard “hanafubuki”, lol!
Thanks! That was a real raindrop– it was pouring by that point, so rain probably got on my lens XD!
Thank you!! ^-^
I can’t remember when I first heard it, but I immediately fell in love with it. :3
Sometimes those ruin your photos, but in your case it creates a really awesome effect!
Awesome! I love all of your photos, but these are my favorite photos:
http://www.jamieism.com/img/201203/omeumematsuri32.jpg
http://www.jamieism.com/img/201203/omeumematsuri48.jpg
http://www.jamieism.com/img/201203/omeumematsuri42.jpg
http://www.jamieism.com/img/201203/omeumematsuri52.jpg
http://www.jamieism.com/img/201203/omeumematsuri60.jpg
http://www.jamieism.com/img/201203/omeumematsuri67.jpg
http://www.jamieism.com/img/201203/omeumematsuri20.jpg
Thanks, Val! ^^