springing forward

A couple weeks ago, Mike and I went with two of our students to Kairakuen, a park near Mito (an hour north of Tsuchiura) that has really pretty plum (ume) blossom trees from late February to early March. We had a good time and saw a bunch of gorgeous flowers in bloom. The cherry blossom (sakura) trees will be blooming soon too so I'm looking forward to that. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera when we went to the park. Luckily, Mike had his so I've stolen his pictures and posted them below. 

Bamboo forests are amazing. Apparently they stay cool in the summer and are some of the safest places to be in the event of an earthquake because of their strong roots. If ever there's a big earthquake, I'll probably hop on the train and head to Kairakuen. ^_^

We said "cheezu" with the lovely kimono-wearing ladies who stand at the park all day.