While it was fun to see the early cherry blossoms, the real show began when it got dark, with light displays that were elaborate and massive in scale.
It was the first time I've dealt with a real Japanese crowd. They seem to take any excuse to stand in a line - lines so long there's no possible way to know what you'd even be standing in line for. Personal space isn't quite the same here - the crowds are shoulder to shoulder (or sometimes in my case elbow to shoulder) and bumping up against the people around you seems to be par for the course. Certainly nothing to apologize for or really even take note of.
This was one of the more impressive views in the park, both for the hundreds of yards of light tunnel, and also the hundreds of people crowding through it. Luckily it thinned out about a third of the way through as the novelty of enormous lighted tunnel wore off and people picked up the pace to get to the other side. But it was a perfect example of 'what am I in this line for?' - the line stretched around a corner and out of sight of the tunnel, where people were waiting when it was still light out! How interesting would this view be if it wasn't in the dark?
In addition to the lights, another big attraction at this park was the food. (as mentioned previously) Half the price of admission went towards vouchers that were redeemable with the parks various vendors, restaurants, and gift shops. With about $20 in vouchers between the two of us, A and I managed to eat well, and still come home with several pastries. Any light show that includes tasty leftovers is a success in my book.(The pastries are, starting at the bottom and going clockwise, an apple turnover, a potato(?) croquet bun, a fancy latticed croissant thing, and a chocolate goo filled bun. The juice box looking thing is actually hot chocolate)
Hot chocolate in a juice box? Brilliant!
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