Parents in town

From 28th March to 7th April, Daniel's parents were in town to visit us one more time before we return to Singapore. A family friend, Aunty Pearl also came along. The last time Daniel's parents came to Japan was in Autumn 2007. This time, they came just in time to catch the Sakura come into full bloom. There was in addition, one disguised agenda in their coming: to take some 30kg worth of our belongings back to Singapore ahead of us...

Kyoto & Nara was one place we had not yet visited, so this was the perfect opportunity for all of us to catch the sights and see the Cherry blossoms there. We went to the usual tourist spots such as (it is a long list, please bear with us) Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, Kiyomizudera, Nijo castle, Ryoanji, Heian shrine, Maruyama park, Philosopher's path, Arayashima & Gion. It was a good cultural experience to visit these places and learn of its historic significance.

Some attractions, especially those located in East Kyoto were relatively close to each other so we covered the area on foot. Otherwise, we bought a 500 yen one-day bus card that allows us unlimited bus rides for a day (good value!)

As one might expect, we also took photographs of the famed Geisha. One night, we caught a Japanese cultural show at Gion corner where we got to see glimpses of several kinds of traditional arts such as Bunraku (puppet play) and Kyomai (Kyoto dance) in a single night.

Todaiji, the famous landmark in Nara is the world's largest wooden building in the world and it houses a colossal statue of Buddha. While we marveled at the historicity and architecture of Todaiji, one cannot help but notice how deeply rooted Buddhism & Shintoism are in Japanese society.

Nara is well known for its tame deer that roams freely around the park, and we squandered a small fortune buying shika sembe (deer biscuits) feeding these adorable pets. Many of these deer would simply wait for biscuits to be fed to them. Some loafers would stalk the sembe stalls and pounce on any unsuspecting tourist who so dares venture innocently into a crowd of greedy deer.

In Tokyo, we visited Ueno park, Asakusa and took the Sumida river cruise to Odaiba. However, the main highlight for us was Shinjukugyoen, the city's very own version of Central Park. Yumiko-san (top photo, in white jacket) took us to see the park known for its variety of flora. The colors of Sakura combined with those from a variety of flowers in Shinjukugyoen left an indelible impression on us. We think the hundreds of people amassed at the park for hanami (Sakura viewing) that same day must be feeling the same way.



In Japan, the Cherry blossom signify the start of all things new: Another academic school term or the start of a new job. This is also for us the end of one season and the start of another. Viewing the Cherry blossoms in Shinjukugyoen made us think about it a little, and it will be exciting to see what God has in store for us in the future.