After months of hibernation, all the nippon-philes and their cosplaying buddies were out to frolic under the sun this past weekend. The Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan Town, SF has always been a fun event to photograph. You would be surprised at how easily people agree to having their picture taken by a complete stranger when there’s a bit of politeness and flattery involved. Obviously, being a pachyderm like me helps too.
If you live in San Francisco and haven’t been to the Cherry Blossom Festival yet, you should definitely go check it out. The festival will still be there this weekend. I recommend trying some of the Japanese food vendors like takoyaki (fried balls of dough with bits of octopus), gyudon (beef rice bowl), and dorayaki (pancakes filled with sweet red bean paste).
The New People Shopping Center is also worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood. Some stores inside include Utsuwa Floral Design that is filled with cute little plants and terrariums in glass vessels and a lolita clothing store called Baby, The Stars Shine Bright. The name alone should be intriguing enough for most people. I think the Japanese have an obsession with infantilizing women that is disturbing to some but somewhat fascinating to me. Read more about the lolita subculture here. OK, fine. I’m a total dork.
Here are some pictures I took from this year and last year’s Cherry Blossom Festival.
I loved the junxtaposition of the matching traditional kimino against the matching pink iPhones.
