Well, we're well into the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hirosaki City thought it would be a good idea to hold their annual Cherry Blossom Festival at Hirosaki Park this year which resulted in an increase of COVID-19 cases a couple of weeks later. My wife and I are not into risking our lives for the sake of seeing pretty flowers in a crowded park so we stayed in our car and drove along Sakuragawa in Aomori City to see the cherry blossoms. It was a little late at night so I didn't take any pictures. However, the next day, we went shopping and on our way back home, we stopped at the Roadside Station in Namioka called Apple Hill.
さて、もう２年も新型コロナと戦ってますね。弘前の市長が弘前公園の桜祭りを開催して、予想通り、２週間後、新型コロナの感染者が一気に増えた。僕と妻は混んでる名所を避けるため、車の中から青森市の桜川のほうでドライブしました。車の中から桜を見た。その時は夜だったし、車から降りなかったので写真も撮ってなかった。翌日浪岡で買い物してたので、帰りに浪岡の道の駅アップルヒルで寄り道しました。
It was a little windy at the Roadside Station but we went to see some of the cherry blossoms as there were hardly anyone else about.
道の駅でちょっと風が強かったけど、人は少なかったため、近くまで桜を見に行った。
A bit of snack time with pistachio and pumpkin gelato.
おやつの時間でピスタチオとパンプキンのジェラート。
The following week, we took my mother-in-law to Goshogawara to a flower shop. We decided to have lunch at a soba shop called [Kakashi] located at the Morita Earth Top Roadside Station in Tsugaru. We had a nice view of Mount Iwaki on our way to the soba shop.
次の週義理の母を五所川原にある花屋に連れてって、そのあとは津軽市にある道の駅もりたアーストップでランチを食べた。そこにあるのは古い民家を改善して、「案山子」という蕎麦屋になってる。蕎麦屋に行く途中岩木山が綺麗に見えた。
Mount Iwaki / 岩木山
This is the old farm house converted into a soba shop. It is the former Masuda Family Residence main building.
これが蕎麦屋になった民家。旧増田家住宅母屋。
We had a nice view from our table.
私たちの席から良い眺めがあった。
My wife and I always order the tenzaru when we come here. That would be zaru soba and an assortment of tempura.
僕と妻はこの店に来ると必ず天ざるを注文する。
Today, I had a banana shake for dessert.
今日のデザートはバナナシェイクにしました。
On our way back home, we stopped at the parking lot of Oinonagase Park which is located next to the former Kusumi Family Residence farm house.
帰りと途中旧楠美家住宅の隣にある狼野長瀬公園の駐車場に止まった。駐車場の回りに立派な桜の木が結構並んでます。
In the parking lot at Oinonagase Park. The backlight made this picture kind of fuzzy.
狼野長瀬公園の駐車所。逆光で写真がぶれてるような感じになってます。
The cherry blossom tree with no backlight.
逆光無しの桜の木。
Yes, that is my wife that you can see in the distance.
はい、奥に写ってる人物は僕の妻です。
A line of cherry blossom trees.
桜の並木。
I included the shining sun in this photo.
太陽も入れ込んだ写真。
Cherry blossoms up close.
超アップで撮った桜。
These blossoms were growing out of the trunk of the tree.
木の幹から出てる桜。
Divine light shining on the tree?
神の光が木に当たってる？
Sunbeam and Mount Iwaki / サンビームと岩木山
Sunbeam on a cherry blossom with Mount Iwaki in the background.
桜の木に太陽の光ビーム。奥に岩木山が見える。
This is me trying to be fancy by using one of the camera features on my smart phone.
スマホの機能を使って、ちょっとアートぽいの写真を撮ってみた。
This is the former Kusumi Family Residence.
この建物が旧楠美家住宅。
The cherry blossoms may have bloomed early but it was nice that we were able to see these in a totally uncrowded area. After that, we had an uneventful drive home.
今年の桜が例年より早く咲いたけど、混んでない場所に見れて良かった。あとは無事家に帰りました。
