Jinja and Shoga: Life in the Land of the Rising Sun

Continuing with our recent Izu kick, we went to the Atami Ume Matsuri (Plum Blossom Festival) last Sunday. Atami is in north Izu, only about an hour and a half to two hours from here, not bad for a Sunday drive. We actually had our wedding reception in Atami, just about 2 years ago, so it was fitting that we went back around this time. We celebrated the anniversary of our reception there last year, too, so maybe we'll have to make it a tradition from now on. (If you're confused about this 'anniversary of the reception' bit, it's because the actual paperwork date of a marriage and the ceremony/reception date have no connection in Japan. You can basically fill out the paperwork, be officially married, and never have a ceremony or reception if you don't want to...or you can have your ceremony almost a half year later, like we did).
  ....The Plum Blossom Festival is held on weekends in the very early spring, and not all of the trees were in full bloom when we visited. Still, it was a gorgeous sight and well worth going: the plum blossom park in Atami has tons of different varieties of plum trees, along with other flowers and various styles of gardens.
As beautiful as the plum blossoms are, however, I have to admit that I really can't wait for cherry blossom season! 

                       Yuki posing with my purse. He's an incredibly tolerant guy!