Once again an early wake up as I was going on a long countryside walk with Ebachan, A, and some other people he knew. Ebachan is the guy who I rent my car from. He’s fantastic. He lives on the far side of Maebashi though so it took about 1 hr 15 min to get there. Another Japanese guy and I were the only punctual ones though. We got served tea and snacks while we waited, and Ebachan switched out my winter tires. (I hope it’ll be okay even though I will probably drive in snow in Nagano in two weeks). A showed up shortly after, and we were both gifted with a jar of young bamboo! I’m curious how to cook with it.

The rest of the folks joining us showed up pretty late and we set off at 10 am, one hour delayed. The weather was gorgeous and so warm! I could have been wearing shorts. We walked along some very countryside roads before following a wooded path among azalea bushes. They hadn’t started blooming yet, but I imagine it’ll look stunning. Our first stop was Akagi shrine which was an old shrine, nestled in the woods. After some more countryside walking, we made it Akagi Senbonzakura, Gunma’s best place to see the sakura with a 1.3 km sakura lined road, and over 1000 trees. It was really beautiful. The wind would set petals swirling into the air. I was shocked by the number of cosplayers getting pictures taken amongst the trees. There were performances going on like taiko and a monkey show, plus food stands selling festival food and local products. The carpet phlox was just starting to bloom as well. So much pink!

After our picnic lunch under the trees, we started our journey back. We passed an enormous line of cars. They said they had been waiting over 2 hours to get a parking spot in the lot. The line just kept going. As we passed, we gave drivers some updates, and one car even turned around. Parking is a real issue in Japan. I feel in America, people would open empty lots by their houses and just charge for parking to make a bit of extra money. We also passed Gunma Flower Park, another site I’d still really like to visit! A followed me on the long drive back to Tomioka. We got stuck in some crazy city traffic in Maebashi that only reminded me of how glad I am to be in a small city. A was spending the night to pick up her storage drawers that I got for her, and hang out with me.

After a quick foot soak for A’s sore feet, we left to go get some dinner. I wanted to try to eat at the Iranian restaurant, but it was closed although the website said they should have been open. So we wandered towards two of the other restaurants I like even though their menus are all in Japanese. We ended up stumbling upon an Italian restaurant and bar, Il. Pino, in the small alley garden that I like. Luckily, that means a katakana menu and A is a pro at reading katakana. I ended up with a prosciutto pizza and A, margherita. It was delicious! We stopped by the Tomioka Silk Mill afterwards to see the sakura all lit up. Many blossoms had already fallen, but it was still cool to see. On the walk home, I took A through the park near by school which also had some lanterns hanging among the sakura. It looked beautiful at night as well.