Nanrakuen Garden to Uwajima

This is one of the quintessential Japanese gardens. Not the most famous one but definitely a beautiful example. I go early so I can leave my pack in the house. There is nobody in the gardens and I'm here all by myself, it feels strange, but I'm lucky that in such populated place as Japan I can have a solo experience of Sakura at its peak. Some of these cherry trees are over 200 years old.

In Uwajima I visit the castle and find even older cherry trees. I'm thinking of getting dinner rest in the park but it's Saturday and there is a kids performance on stage with food trucks all around. More fun to be had.

At the hostel I run into Christine from Denmark again and meet Benjamin from France. But astonishingly Agnes shows up again. I thought I was way ahead of her. Nice kitchen dinner conversation in French after the Onsen with lots of Japanese and Benjamin.Read more