Furouen 2

This is the second part of my post about Furouen. Since the first time I came there the plum blossom haven't full bloomed yet, I came to Furouen again this morning. Since it is almost the end of February, more of the plum blossom have bloomed. It is so beautiful now compare to the past week. There are a lot of pink, red, yellow, and white flowers which have fully bloomed today. It has a more Spring atmosphere compare to last time. If you are planning to come here, this is the best time to go. 

This is the picture I took 2 weeks ago

This is the picture I took this morning 

Tomorrow, there will be a plum festival or Ume matsuri here in Furouen. The festival is to welcome spring. As I said in my previous post, plum blossom is the sign of the start of spring in Japan.

Today I also learn a lot about Ume bonsai. For you who don't know what bonsai is, bonsai is a Japanese art from using trees grown in containers. Bonsai is like mini tree in a pot. The staff here said that plum blossom is part of the rose family. It has small thorn in it's twig and it could be plant by using stem system plantation. You can buy ume bonsai here for 900 yen to 30.000 yen.

I also got the chance to taste a plum tea or umekobucha. I'm surprised that the color of the tea is actually pink. But the taste of the tea is really delicious. Though it tasted more like a soup than a tea. It has a sour smell, but it doesn't taste sour at all. It also has some sprinkles of gold powder. 

Another interesting thing that I found today is a caged raccoon or tanuki statue. The staff said it is to prevent the raccoon to do destruction in the park. I think it is an interesting Japanese culture and superstitious. 

I really learn a lot on my second trip here. If you go to Furouen, I hope you also have a really good time here as I am. 

For more information visit their home page on http://www.furouen.jp