| The next stop on our journey homeward was Japan |
| Old Edo still exists in the heart of Tokyo |
| The Old Palace Park is a grace note in the bustle of the city |
| The Japanese have an admirable knack for composing the landscape |
| We arrived at Cherry Blossom season |
| Magnolias were in full bloom too |
| The fragility of the flowers against a backdrop of concrete and steel made it all the more lovely |
| Tokyo is full of wooded parks |
| We took the subways to the Botanic Gardens to see the best examples |
| A perfect cherry tree |
| The perfect climate for azeleas |
| On your mark, get set... bask |
| A deliberately pruned pine tree |
| Landscape composition |
| An explosion of delicate blossoms |
| The end of February, the perfect time to visit |
| We met up with some sailing buddies we knew from s/v Maranatha in Grenada who now live in Japan |
| They twisted our arms to go out for sushi and sake at their favorite restaurant |
| Desmond has a great karaoke voice, and we stayed out with them til midnight |
| Hiro-san would rather read the words than sing. We had a great time reconnecting with our sailing friends |