Cherry blossoms

The cherry blossom season has come!

Did you already have a cherry blossom viewing party?
During the month of April many people go out to admire the
cherry blossoms in full bloom.
"Hanami" or cherry blossom viewing, is part of Japanese culture
and famous cherry blossom spots are always crowded with admires.

I went to Senzoku-Ike park to see the cherry blossoms last night.

It was a very cold night, 

but there were a lot of people here than I thought there would be.

There were many stalls around and lots of people enjoy 

having parties under the cherry blossoms and drinking.

Norakuro

I went to " Norakuro Museum (のらくろ館) the day before yesterday.http://www.kcf.or.jp/morishita/norakuro.html

What's "Norakuro"?

Norakuro is a famous Japanese manga character that was serialized from 1931 to 1981 written by Suihou Tagawa.

Norakuro stands for NORA (homeless ) KURO (black dog).

It looks adorable,doesn't it?  (*⌒▽⌒*) /   

This one is a little bit scary!! 　(￣▽￣；)!!ｶﾞｰﾝ

It's one of most popular perennial manga characters in Japan.

Even now, over 80 years after the first appearance,a variety of goods related to it are on sale.

http://www.kcf.or.jp/morishita/norakuro.html

Makoto-chan House.

I went to Kichi-jho-ji to find "Makoto-chan House."

What's "Makoto-chan House?"

It's a very very very fantastic house that is designed by a famous Japanese cartoonist Kazuo Umezu.

See,It looks fantastic,doesn't it!

It has red and white stripes on the outside wall.

And a pointed roof with cute eyes.

Can you see a doll on the roof?

It's called Makoto-chan.

It's a main character of his Manga.

I've never seen such stripy house. I'm LOVING it!!

Have you seen Tokyo Sky Tree?

It's a tower that is being constructed at Sumida ward.

It's will be the highest self-standing iron tower in the world.

It is scheduled for completion in 2011 or 2012.

I'm looking forward to seeing it!! ！(^ ^)！

Okamoto-Minka-En. 岡本民家園

I went to "Okamoto-Minka-En"（岡本民家園）
It's a kinda park that made use of natural woods.
There's an old traditional Japanese farmer's house with thatched roof.
It was built at the end of the Edo period.
So,it's really really old.
You can come into the great house from the earth floor （土間）.
You can relax over a cup of tea at the fireplace（囲炉裏）.
You'll be able to see some old gadgets and agricultural implements.

It makes you forget the chaos of the city.