Chasing Cherry Blossoms Mar/Apr 2023

[rbjhan]

The OP's recommendation for this wagyu kaiseki restaurant in Kyoto was a truly excellent one.

My partner and I had an absolutely fantastic time there recently. One of the courses was the best steak I've ever had. The wagyu noodles starter was also such an inventive dish.

There was a group next to us that got chatting to us (as the sole foreigners there) and shouted us some sake. One of the persons turned out to be owner of the brand of wagyu (omi beef) that supplies the restaurant (and perhaps the owner of the restaurant — was hard to tell).

Cannot recommend this place highly enough.

I'm glad you like it!

 

[Quickstatus]

paper

Where do you get the paper?

 

[rbjhan]

Where do you get the paper?

You got to help me out here, where was this quote originally from and what was the topic? I do not recall....

 

[Quickstatus]

where was this quote originally

Click on my quote then click on my quote of your comment which takes it you your comment but reproduced here:

Can you get similar at other places?

 

[rbjhan]

Click on my quote then click on my quote of your comment which takes it you your comment but reproduced here:


View attachment 370738

Oh that paper!
It's from the tourist info office.
They do that for sakura and momiji season every year. But in Japanese only, so the usefulness entirely depends on the user's ability to read Japanese.

 

[Quickstatus]

user's ability to read Japanese.

Google translate?

 

[rbjhan]

Google translate?

I can read Japanese.... let's see if anyone else can comment on the picture translate function...

 

[drron]

I can recognise some Japanese words but Google translate is OK most of the time. It does sometimes translate into Jinglish and some not quite right words. EG Himeji castle comes out as chateau Himeji. it is meant to be translating to English.
It comes in very useful if off the main tourist track and you want to ask a local a question. They might not have a smart phone but you can ask them to talk to your phone.

 

[rbjhan]

I can recognise some Japanese words but Google translate is OK most of the time. It does sometimes translate into Jinglish and some not quite right words. EG Himeji castle comes out as chateau Himeji. it is meant to be translating to English.
It comes in very useful if off the main tourist track and you want to ask a local a question. They might not have a smart phone but you can ask them to talk to your phone.

With that particular piece of paper I think the problem would be lots of specific names of places and bus stops...not sure how well Google translate works in that regard.
One needs to be really familiar with the Sakura spots in Kyoto to make sense of it. Otherwise even in English it would be like wtf....

 

[drron]

Actually it is not bad with place names.
But there are plenty of English language guides to Sakura time. here are what I have used. The first 2 for deciding what places in Japan i would like to see.

Where to See Beautiful Cherry Blossoms in Japan

www.japan.travel

Best Cherry Blossom Spots

A list of Japan's best cherry blossom spots.

www.japan-guide.com

one that gives you start times of blooms starting.

https://matcha-jp.com/en/3208

And one that over the years is pretty accurate with predictions.

Japan Cherry Blossom 2024 Forecast: When & Where to See Sakura in Japan (+Tours / Updated 2/8) | LIVE JAPAN travel guide

Planning your dream trip to Japan in spring for cherry blossom season? Here is where and when is the best time to see the cherry blossoms in Japan in 2024! In this deep dive, we share the Japan cherry blossom forecast, talk about sakura viewing culture, and see where are the best places to see...

livejapan.com

 

[Lukestro]

Great read! Love the food commentary. Really hoping to visit Japan this year.