Hey Steemit!
So in the 2 previous travel posts, we went on excursions to different summer cottages in Mikkeli, Finland! The first one I went to was called Kenkävero, and the other was called Tertti Manor. It was a very interesting experience getting to know the history and culture of what makes Finland a unique travel destination. Do check those out if you're interested!
Anyway, a friend of ours had shared an interesting event that was happening in Finland; it was a hanami event, aka cherry blossom festival!
We were really excited to check it out since our favourite country is Japan and we were missing it a lot after being cooped up in Mikkeli for months on end. We haven't had the chance to see sakura in Japan yet so it was kinda ironic that we we were gonna see it in Finland but oh well!
We only saw this post about a week before the actual event so it was kinda rushed to arrange everything; transport, accommodations, etc. but somehow we managed (#MichaelScott, hehe). The actual event is held somewhere in Helsinki so we had to take a bus from Mikkeli first, which we did on Friday after our morning class.
On the way to the bus station we saw some really pretty tulips! Ah, the beauty of spring 😊
On the bus to Hel yet again!
Our Airbnb was a loft and it was so cool!
19 May 2018. Saturday.
On the actual day of the event, we went to grab brunch at FAFA's, a Finnish falafel chain (thanks to Google's cheap eats). Also because I remember this from Friends:
The chicken falafel we bought was actually really yummy! And it was kinda huge for 1 person so we shared it.
After that yummy meal, we took a bus to the actual event area, called Roihuvuoren! I'm pretty sure it's just a normal field and if it wasn't for events nobody would actually visit this place. 😅
From the bus stop we had to walk a little to reach the park, and we saw some small wild flowers on the way!
The grass was peppered with small yellow flowers that were so pretty!
It was really quite warm that day and very sunny, but that makes for great pictures! 😊
The first doggo we saw was a shibe! What a cutie. Get ready for lots of dog pics 🐶
Pretty much the only landmark here is this UFO looking structure, so we knew we were close.
This reminds me of some sci-fi show like Star Wars
Soon enough, we came across many many people sitting on blankets under the trees and under tentages and we saw another doggo!
Aww look at his little face!
We were very surprised there was such a huge turnout and were pretty sure this was the most people we've ever seen in one place in Finland. 😅
There was even some people in cosplay! How cool!
We kept looking around for the sakura trees but soon realised that these were supposed to be the sakura trees, and all the flowers had actually already wilted! Oh nooo 😥
You can actually see some remnants of pink on the trees
Yup unfortunately, most of the pretty petals had already fallen to the ground 🙁
It seems the flowers had actually bloomed a few days before the actual event; I'm guessing at the start of the week. However, by that weekend most of them had wilted. Sad.
These pink petals were pretty much all that was left on the trees. However, the green of the leaves really overpowered them and it was tough to distinguish the pink from afar. I'm sure they were very beautiful when they were in full bloom.
After walking around, we found the only sakura that were fully bloomed were on these small tree specimens.
Granted, they do look beautiful, but kinda underwhelming since it was pretty much just a few branches.
There were quite a few of these "trees" around; which I suppose were different species of sakura, and many people were crowding around just to snap some photos of them. It was actually quite funny to witness. 😅
There was another lone tree that still had some flowers which was slightly bigger in the middle of the field that some photographers were gathered around too.
Using some "trick photography" I managed to get a few nice shots:
After taking lots of flowery photos, we explored the event a bit more, because there was a whole area with lots of booths and stuff; all celebrating Japanese culture!
I think this is a Helsinki tourism booth.?
Japanese handicrafts!
Crafts with the Japanese Cultural Society!
There was sooo many people bustling around here, and doggos too!
Aww cute sheebs!
We saw an Akita too! What a beauty 😍
There was a lady just chillin with like 3 smol doggos! And there were so many more around!
Big zooom
Other than doggos, there were some Japanese sports activities too!
There was a children's taekwondo class
Japanese archery demonstration
And a Kendo booth!
There was even a dance performance by some Finnish students! They didn't have costumes but it was still fun.
Of course, there were some food trucks and vendors too!
mochi booth
curry rice!
I'm pretty sure this isn't technically a Japanese thing, but hey, food is food right.?
As expected, a lot of the food and snacks were really expensive (and tbh slightly overpriced), so we didn't bother trying any. It probably doesn't taste as good as the original in Japan anyway. But I guess this is good for people to try some Japanese cuisine, since it's not really that accessible in Finland.
Even though the sakura was kinda disappointing, the event was really quite interesting! It was nice to see appreciation and celebration for Japanese culture so far away from Japan. Although a lot of people think Japan is quite distinct (with the weird commercials and stuff), I'm glad everyone all over the world can find something to enjoy about Japan. 😊
On the way out of the park, I found this nice creek! The water is so clear it reminded me of the ponds in Breath of the Wild.
Anyway, the day was only half done so I'll continue this adventure in the next post! Here's a teaser:
Woohoo look forward to that in the next one! Thanks for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://tacocat.vornix.blog/2019/04/19/tacocats-travels-finland-22-sakura-in-finland-%f0%9f%8c%b8/
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