It was in January that I found myself booking another trip to Japan, in Osaka this time. I was asked by my mom to accompany her on a trip she booked with my aunt and her husband some months back. It was a very productive trip, shopping-wise, punctuated by quick train rides outside of Osaka, to Himeji one day, and Nara on another day.
It was a shame that we missed Sakura season by about a week. There were some Sakura trees heavy with blooms at a garden show in Himeji and we had the opportunity to look at them closely and take photos. I was taken aback by the wonderful scent of the
cherry blossoms plum blossoms. They smell like how I imagined spring should smell - so fresh like newly laundered linen with subtle floral tones. Coupled with the loveliest shades of pink pricked with yellow stamens, it was such a treat to the senses. I was so stunned and overwhelmed that I stood by a tree for a good couple of minutes breathing in the wonderful scent and watching a bee hopping from one flower to another, gathering the spring essence. I would like to go back there when all the trees are in full bloom. Maybe next year.
All photos are mine.
