Nago was a cute town on the ocean. While I don't think many Americans lived there, they were out in full force for the festival. The main street was closed for festival-goers and was lined with food vendors and carnival games. Music blarred throughout the town. I was starving when I got there so we hit the food vendors first. Lots of fried foods and meats on sticks - not too different from the states. Fred suggested the takoyaki - literally translated as fried octopus I think. It looked like a soft bread ball with sauce on top. It was hot, doughy and had a chuck of octopus inside. Quite delicious and apparently a popular festival food. After a few octopus balls and a couple beers, we decided to climb up the hill to see the cherry blossoms.
The trees climbed up a hillside and were mostly in bloom. Stone stairs ran up the hillside for pedestrians to climb along the trees. It was quite a hike, but the trees and view from the top were beautiful. A small shrine was set up at the half-way point. Again, I almost felt like I was at Epcot because of all the Americans walking around. The cherry blossoms aren't blooming in mainland Japan yet. Okinawa gets them first. Fred and I will be visiting Tokyo near the end of February, but I don't think their blossoms will be out until end of March. For more photos of the Nago Cherry Blossom Festival, click here.
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