I'm obsessed with Cherry Blossoms...

I have a bit of an obsession going on...but, in my defense the cherry blossoms are pretty spectacular and with the hubs being gone I've got to find ways to keep myself entertained! This month I've been a bachelorette. About 2 days after I got to Nebraska in March Keenan found out he would have to be in the states all of April for some training stuff. Of course he found out after I got there (or I would have delayed my visit)! He got to spend March solo and I'm spending April solo.

Just a quick update on the weather, I think I last posted something like "looks like we've made it through our first Misawa winter"...well I spoke too soon! I wasn't around to witness it, but Keenan was and March was one for the record books! March snowfall averages 20.6 inches, the record WAS 57.8 inches...the new record for March snowfall is 60.6 inches!

Our season total for snowfall was 189.3 inches...6th highest on record! Crazy! That's just under 16 feet of snow! 

Good thing was it really never got that cold, nothing compared to the minus 0 degree windchills and single digit highs we were used to in Nebraska. Honestly, I don't know if the temperature ever got below 15° F.


And back to the cherry blossoms...I decided to check out the Towada cherry blossoms and wanted to see it both in the daylight and at night when the trees were illuminated. Rather than spend the whole day there I decided to see another cherry blossom festival (in Sannohe) and come back for the illumination. Yes, I'm probably crazy. (Map pictured at bottom of the post)

Towada City Spring Festival in the daylight (yellow marker on the map). The festival centers around a main road in Towada that has around 156 cherry trees and also outdoor art sculptures. The road is listed as a "Top One Hundred Japanese Roads."

No, that's not a giant pillow on the sidewalk!
Or is it? It's a bench!

Most cities have unique manhole cover designs.

Sannohe Spring Festival (purple marker on the map) is located in Shiroyama Park in Sannohe. There are over 1,600 cherry trees in the park!

Random spot close to the dead end Google directed me to...

Huge fancy bridge in the middle of nowhere!

Interesting water fountains in the park!

Another water fountain.

Mito Castle, I was a little early for some of the blooming.

Towada Spring Festival illuminated. The Towada Chamber of Commerce building had an free observatory lounge open during the festival to view the street from above. I checked it out during the evening and the view was pretty! The glass was really thick and reflective so taking photos was impossible :(

My attempt at being artistic with photos, haha. These were
highly reflective benches/sculpture on the sidewalk.

After a long day of driving and admiring I decided not to cook dinner and tried the McDonald's limited edition EBI Avocado sandwich (a Japan exclusive)...a breaded shrimp patty with chunks of avocado and a spicy sauce...pretty delicious!

My route for the day took me around 135km (84 miles) total. Would have been shorter had Google maps not directed me to a dead end road (the green marker).

Up next: Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival (the biggest and best!)