Serendipity. A perfect word to describe how we ended up on a rowboat enjoying an afternoon on a beautiful lake flanked by cherry blossoms on every shore.
We planned to visit the Imperial Gardens and Imperial Palace in Tokyo. When we got there we were searching for a place to use the bathroom (cheap sushi…) and along the way Stella fell asleep. The bathroom scavenger hunt lead us to a beautiful walk along the moat outside the Imperial Gardens. We noticed a line for rowboats and decided that a sleeping baby is the perfect match for a long line. About 30 minutes later we were boarding a rowboat. Stella woke up and had a huge smile on her face!
We spent the next 45 minutes rowing around the moat. All of the rental company’s boats were in action because of Sakura, so the lake was a little cramped, but who cares. We bumped into a few other boats along the way and everyone just laughed. It’s always funny to see how other people decide to “row” a rowboat. Lots of boats were going around the lake backwards.
The trees on the shore were full of blossoms and the branches hung gracefully over the water. We backed the boat in close to several of the trees. Stella loved examining the branches and we all were in awe at the beauty.
This was a good day.
Thanks for reading,
Abe