The Pied Piper of Sankei-en Chrysanthemum Festival

The weather could not have been finer on Culture Day. There was tinge of autumn in the crisp, clear air and a few wispy clouds floated across an azure sky.

The guidebooks say you can get to Sankei-en Garden either by car or by catching a bus at the Yokohama train station. They don't mention that the Negishi station is just a 15-minute hike from the garden's rear entrance. This is Ishii's preferred route and one I'm happy to share with my friends.

"How fast can you walk, Olga? We'll want to stay about half a block ahead of everyone else in case they start grousing about the distance. This is a technique I've honed leading my husband and children on little adventures over the past quarter century."

A pottery exhibition just outside the garden's back gate was our reward for following Ishii's route.  The traditional routes would have denied us this experience.

Handing us clipboards and pens, a vivacious young lady instructed us through pantomine to view the pottery on display in a nearby shed and then vote for our three favorite entries.  When we deposited our ballots in the box, a lady rattled a bag in our faces.  We each reached into the bag and pulled out a crystal.  Those who nabbed blue crystals were invited to select a free chopstick holder.  At least one of us did not win a prize.  Her lower lip might have shifted to pout position for a split second before she recalled her manners and her vow to conduct herself with dignity in honor of Emperor Meiji's birthday. 

Maybe it's just that I associate chrysanthemums with some of my least favorite memories -- try executing a Russian jump with a giant mum pinned to YOUR chest -- but this year's festival didn't do much for me.  It seemed like a pale imitation of last year's event, with only half as many entries in the jumbo categories and even fewer of those clever bonsai scenes. 

But don't get me wrong.  Festival aside, clambering through the historical farm house and watching the old guys toss bread crumbs to the turtles and carp was more than enough fun for me.  And I stumbled upon a gallery where breathtaking photographs unveiled aspects of the garden in different seasons.



Ise-giku?  Perhaps.



A fairly incredible bi-colored Mino-giku

Kudamono - four feet tall with an eight-inch span

The bonsai displays are crowd-pleasers.  I like the swans.

Someone once said, "If you've seen one chrysanthemum festival, you've seen them all."  I guess I'll find out for sure next week when I go to Tokyo to check out the festival at Shinjuku Gyoen.