Hanami
We might not have had much of a spring this year, but I was super happy that we still managed to have hanami in Toronto! Last weekend was the nicest weather we’ve had all year, so it was perfect for our day out in the park. Early morning I woke up and helped prepare onigiri and inarizushi for our picnic later in the day. After picking up Yoo-chan all three of us were on our way to High Park. It was crazy exiting the subway at High Park station and seeing the hordes of people rushing towards the park. We pretty much followed the crowds until we hit the first batch of sakura trees. After stopping to take a few obligatory photos, we tried to scope out a place to have our picnic.
I’ve never actually seen so many people out in the park for hanami before, so it was a little hard finding a spot in the shade. We did manage to get a spot towards the start of the cherry blossom trail, so we had a great view from where we were sitting. Andrea made bentos for each of us with things like tsukune and tamagoyaki. It was so pretty that I felt bad eating it. =P
Later as we were eating Tyrone and Sae came over to join us. It was Sae’s first time experiencing hanami in Toronto and even though we couldn’t have a sake party, it was still fun enjoying the company. The rest of took a walk around the park after eating. I was actually afraid of getting heatstroke cause it was really hot that day. I was so paranoid about getting heatstroke that it never occurred to me I would be burnt instead. (T__T)
The rest of the afternoon was pretty relaxing. There was a DJ playing music in the park and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. By around 4pm we decided to pack up for the day. There were already people waiting for our spot as we were getting our stuff together. It was crazy how busy it was even in the late afternoon. We took the subway over to Dundas and went to Bar+ for a couple hours. Later we were trying to find a place for dinner and ended up over at Kenzo for ramen. It was a long day by the time we got back home, but it was super fun hanging out with everyone and I’m glad we got to do hanami together. =)