⇑⇑ Standing on the observation deck of Nara Prefecture Office Building, looking south to the five-story pagoda and Tōkondō of Kōfuku-ji (興福寺). ⇑⇑ 站在奈良縣政府辦公大樓頂樓的觀景層，遠眺興福寺五層塔。
Kyoto cherry blossom viewing tour 4.12 Nara
April 12th, checked the weather first thing in the morning, mainly a cloudy day, but better than the day before, the percentage of precipitation was predicted to be low, so we headed out to Nara. We’ve been to Nara many times, our original plan was to take pictures of the cherry trees planted along the Saho River, however, the earlier than usual sakura season messed up our plan, so we made Yoshiki-en our destination for that day. After that, I couldn’t help but walked to Saho River to check out the cherry trees.
京都賞櫻行之十二 奈良
早上起來，天色仍然沒有太好，但說是不會下雨，所以就去奈良走走。早先原來計劃是要到佐保川拍兩岸滿滿的桜花，但也因桜花早開而錯過了。今日來主要是去看吉城園，以前來都想去那裡看看，但陰差陽錯， 都沒去成。最後，奈不住，也還去了佐保川看看，了個心願。
⇑⇑ Looking to the East: Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall), Todaji (東大寺). ⇑⇑ 向東望向東大寺大佛殿。
⇑⇑ Nara Prefectural Office Building is located just a stone’s throw away from Yoshiki-en. The west side of the top floor of this building is a canteen which offers a panoramic view of the city of Nara. The canteen is open to public, including tourists like us. Above the canteen, there is an observatory deck where one can have an almost 360 degree view of the city.
⇑⇑ 這𥚃就是奈良縣政府辦公大樓，頂層有一食堂，妙的是對外開放，也歡迎遊客到那𥚃用餐，食堂在西面，有北、南、西三面無礙景覌。食堂再上一層，是屋頂陽台，中央有高一層的觀望台，免費供人使用。
⇑⇑ A monk on his alms round. 近鐵車站前的化緣僧人。
⇑⇓ One of the few cherry trees still in bloom. 少數還在開化的桜花樹。
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吉城園 Yoshiki-en:
Wikipedia: Yoshiki-en (吉城園) is a Japanese garden in Nara. Adjacent to Yoshiki-en flows the Yoshiki River (宣寸川 or 吉城川), celebrated in the Man’yōshū. According to an old plan of Kōfuku-ji (興福寺古絵図), the site was occupied until the Edo period by one of its branch temples, Manishu-in (摩尼珠院). The gardens have been open to the public since the end of the Shōwa period.
吉城園在江戶時代原為摩尼珠院用地，至昭和時代開放供公眾遊覧。園內有三不同主題之庭院，池之庭、苔之庭和茶之庭。
There are three gardens in Yoshikien: a pond garden, a moss garden and a tea ceremony garden. So, a visit to Yoshikien provides the opportunity to see three different variations of Japanese gardens in one spot. 
The Pond Garden 池之庭（ 池の庭）
The Tea House. 離れ茶室， 芽葺之屋頂
Written on the tablet above the door of the teat house, Rafusan, which refers to a mountain located in Guandong Provence, China, where there was a legendary huge cave suitable for meditation to become a celestial being. Painted on the door is a horse-riding warrior.
茶室的門上繪有騎馬武士圖，而門上扁額書有「羅浮山」，旁有説明指出是指廣東省的羅浮山，山上有山洞宜練仙云云。
During our visit, the tea house was having an exhibition of kimono, however, only for invited guests.
我們入園的時候，茶室正舉辦和服的展覽，可惜不對外公開。
The Moss Garden 苔之庭（苔の庭）
The Tea House, as viewed from the moss garden. 離れ茶室， 芽葺之屋頂
Rhododendron or azalea 杜鵑花
Camellia Garden (or Tea Ceremony Garden) : I guess we have missed the bloom of Camellia (normally in January to March). This garden is said to be suitable for tea ceremony. There was no Camellia flowers or sakura blossoms left, however, dogwood was taking over the center stage.
茶花之庭（茶花の庭/茶道の庭），此庭內植有茶花，應該已過花期（1-3月），反而園內的山茱萸正盛開。
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Strolling the streets of Nara. 閒逛奈良街頭
⇑⇑ 黑芝麻 (黑ごま) 軟冰淇淋筒 Black sesame soft ice cream cone
⇑⇓ A small monastery . 小寺院。
⇑⇓ Beautiful wood carvings on the gate of the monastery. 小寺院門上漂亮的木雕。
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Saho River is a river flowing through the city of Nara. Dozens, if not hundreds, of sakura trees are planted on both sides of the river. It was on our itinerary, but the earlier-than-usual season messed up our plan. Even though it was too late to come, I still wanted to check out the site, however, we were greeted with these two still-in-bloom cherry trees.
佐保川兩岸種有數哩的桜花樹，如果來得合時，景色會很壯覌。如今晚了，絶大部份只有緑葉，這兩株算是聊勝於無。
bluepapillon
Bluepapillon's Photoblog 小灰蝶攝影誌 