• ⇤
• ⇽
• ≡
• ⇾
• ⇥

hanami in Toronto

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Today I left work early and met my wife, son, and mother at High Park in the west end for hanami under cherry trees donated by Japan.

Yes, here in Toronto on this endlessly cold Spring, the blossoms are out fully a month later than they are in Tokyo. But today, the weather was perfect and the timing was just right; the petals were out and blowing on the breeze, but not too many had yet fallen.

We were celebrating two things: first, mother's day; second, our success with Mari's PR application. Mari made maki-style sushi. I picked up some obscenely expensive colour film (it's $12 a roll here, instead of ¥600/roll in Japan) while en route on my bike. The crowds were steady but light enough that we could easily find a place to sit. I noticed young people with film cameras again, which is always nice (there was one woman with both a Hexar and a Ricoh GR.)

Nibbling on sushi with cherry blossoms on the breeze, it was a nice taste of my past "home away from home". We spent about two hours walking through the park, taking in the flowers, green willows, and even a small zoo that I'd not known about. Kenny just doesn't like cattle....

Cycling home was interesting, too. The city really seems to explode when the long grey winter finally ends. There were so many people on the streets, sidewalks, and in the green places. I passed countless street vendors, including a fellow with so many flags stuck in his portable stand that a sign would drop every five-to-ten meters or so. I also passed a young woman practically falling out of her top^H^H^H car window trying to wiggle out of a speeding ticket.