中目黒

*Nakameguro, Tokyo*
*Saturday, March 24, 2018*

Last Wednesday, March 21st, marked the beginning of my second year living in Tokyo. While my first 365 days here seemed to simply fly past, looking back on them reminds me of just how packed the time has been. Between adjusting to a student schedule again, getting my Japanese up to snuff, going on sightseeing trips, and hosting a number of visiting friends and family, life in Japan has kept me remarkably busy, but pleasantly so. Engaged, perhaps, is the right word.

After several days of rain and cold, the city was gifted a week of clear skies and balmy weather which coincided perfectly with this year's cherry blossom bloom. I decided it was as good an opportunity as any to sit down and set up this picture blog, hopefully appeasing friends and family who have been requesting something like this for the past twelve months.

My neighborhood, Nakameguro, has a beautiful walk along a river which has recently become one of the most popular spots for cherry blossom viewing in the whole city. And when something gets popular in Tokyo, it certainly draws the crowd.

Here's a film strip of some views from my walk on Saturday:

Coming up: I'm working on a few photosets from the past year that I'm prepping for my next posts, including a bunch from my 18-day trip to the southern island of Kyushu earlier this month. I won't promise I'll update this thing regularly, but I can guarantee it'll look pretty when I do. Cheers!