Nanohana Matsuri!!!

Nanohana!  One of the most beautiful flowers.   I think nanohana are rapeseed blossoms in English?  Or sometimes they are called canola blossoms.  Anyway, they are really, really pretty.  And they are planted in abundance all around Iiyama!  There is also a park called Nanohana park which is famous for these lovely beauties.  There is also a Nanohana Festival every year for 3 days during Golden Week.  Golden Week is the series of 3 holidays in a row and it just ended!  That means tomorrow I have to go to school.  But for now, I can write about nanohana.

Besides being pretty, they are delicious!  You can tempura them or pickle the stems!  It is all delicious.

This is a picture of the nanohana with the Chikuma River in the background.

And the same picture with me!

Nanohana and Cherry blossoms in one picture!  The cherry blossoms for the most part are already bloomed and fallen, but these ones were still relatively pink!

Just another view of the park.

Many families hang the koi (carp) kites up every year on childrens' day to honor their boys. These are actually at a school, but you get the idea.  yay for male children!

When we went home, we took a boat across the river.  The ride was approximately 45 seconds long.  But that did not stop the "captain" from introducing himself for about 30 seconds of it.

The other side of the river.  More nanohana.  As I said they are planted everywhere, not just in the park.

If you are considering coming to Japan ever, I strongly suggest spring.  The allergies are terrible but the cherry blossoms and other amazing flowers (like nanohana) make up for it.  Also, when I say spring, I mean it in a Japanese sense which is like mid-March to the end of April.  After April, apparently it is no longer spring, or so says Starbucks when they stop having special spring flavors.  Anyway, Iiyama was pretty late for blooming this year because it has been so cold, but the rest of Japan blooms even earlier.

One more note, to my great disappointment, even though we had a beautiful, sunny day, none of my pictures reflect that due to the sand.  Yes, the smoggy effect is caused by sand from China.  Ridiculous!  Unfortunately, the sand does not keep the sun away and I have two lobster red arms and 4581 new freckles to prove it.  ouch.