{"id":791,"date":"2008-04-11T18:43:12","date_gmt":"2008-04-11T09:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-04-11\/791"},"modified":"2008-04-11T18:43:12","modified_gmt":"2008-04-11T09:43:12","slug":"the-hanami-was-nice-but","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-04-11\/791","title":{"rendered":"The Hanami was Nice, But…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

One of my first posts a few years ago – The Ugliness of Japanese\nCherry-Blossom Viewing<\/a> – encapsulated my opinion of the common\ncherry-blossom viewing experience in Japan, so I never<\/span> would have imagined\nhow wonderful it was this past weekend around here, despite the crowds. In\nfact, as I wrote<\/span> in Cherry-Blossom Joie de\nVivre<\/i> in Kyoto<\/a>, the sense of enjoyment was actually heightened by\nthe crowds, a sort<\/span> of beneficial mob mentality that kept a smile<\/span> on\neveryone's face, as if we were all let in on some kind of beautiful\nsecret that bound us together.<\/p>\n\n

It wasn't enjoyable for everyone all the time, of course. It was decidedly<\/span> unfun if you had to drive (which I didn't<\/span>).<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 190 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1500 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nTraffic Waits Along Nioomon St<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>3200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nWaiting To Enter an Underground Garage<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nSome Found Ways To Enjoy Despite the Traffic<\/span>\nRickshaw Ride in Kyoto, Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

It also wasn't fun if you encountered one of the (surprisingly few) assholes with a cigarette.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>350 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nInconsiderate Jerk<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

It probably also wasn't fun if you were stuck inside working, washing dishes at a cafe.<\/span>...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nEnjoying Lunch on the Terrace<\/span>\nand dirtying a lot of dishes\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It was also decidedly unfun if you visited a convenience<\/span> store nearby,\nbecause inside the crowds were oppressive<\/i>, like what one hears of\nrush-hour trains in Tokyo. I stopped<\/span> by the local 7-11 on Saturday morning,\nand was shocked how crowded it was. You couldn't walk while inside; the\nbest you could do was shuffle or waddle. This, despite the store having set\nup some registers and stands in the parking lot to directly sell the most\ncommon things (bento lunches, bottled tea, etc.), taking pressure off the\ncrowds inside.<\/p>\n\n

I was chatting with the owner today as I picked<\/span> some ice coffee<\/a>, and commented\nabout the crowds. He said that<\/span> on Saturday, out of the 12,000 7-11s in the\ncountry, his was ranked #3 (in sales, I assume<\/span>). Wow.<\/p>\n\n

Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of my first posts a few years ago – The Ugliness of Japanese Cherry-Blossom Viewing – encapsulated my opinion of the common cherry-blossom viewing experience in Japan, so I never would have imagined how wonderful it was this past weekend around here, despite the crowds. In fact, as I wrote in Cherry-Blossom Joie de Vivre in Kyoto, the sense of enjoyment was actually heightened by the crowds, a sort of beneficial mob mentality that kept a smile on everyone's face, as if we were all let in on some kind of beautiful secret that bound us together.<\/p>

It wasn't [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/791\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}