LOH #92 || TO THE LAND OF SAKURA

Hello ladies, hello world! Here we are again for another week, in which @elizabethbit invited us to answer any of her two questions for Ladies of Hive Community Contest #92. Before anything else, I would like to invite @ayane-chan and @jijisaurart to participate in this week's topic.

If you were given a round-trip airline ticket to anywhere in the world, where would you choose to go, and specifically, why?

One of my dreams has been revived by this week's question. A dream to travel to a certain country where I can see the splendor of cherry blossoms or sakura. My absolute fantasy is to be able to hold them in my hands, feel their softness and smell them. I was interested in seeing a genuine one because I had only seen photographs of them online.

_{Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay}

So to be able to see a real one, I wished to visit Japan someday. But as time goes by, I realized that there are still other factors driving my desire to travel there, aside from cherry blossoms.

One factor is that I desired to visit a village that displayed its finest bonsai trees. And one of the greatest sites to see bonsai is in Tokyo's Omiya Bonsai Village, which also features a top-notch Bonsai Art Museum that teaches the various facets of bonsai (source).

My spouse was the one who introduced me to bonsai trees, years ago. And I was astounded at how artistically the plant was grown in a pot using just a little soil to keep it from expanding to its full size. He cherished bonsai trees, some of which he was able to craft himself.

_{(My photo, edited only on Canva)}

The 1st picture is the Ehretia microphylla - Fukien Tea, Fujian Tea, Philippine Tea, Forest Tea, or Wild Tea (source) while the 2nd picture is we both didn't know its name, lol. These two were made years ago and were sold already.

The next factor is that I wanted to taste some of their popular Japanese dishes like sushi, sashimi, ramen, Kushikatsu, tempura, and many more.

_{(Image by Design n Print from Pixabay)}

And lastly, a newly found Filipina friend here in Hive who is currently working in there as a software engineer. @wittyzell was quite approachable, thus getting assistance from her wasn't difficult. She even vowed to treat and host me when I eventually travel to Japan. And that made me happy. Not because of the treat, but more because I appreciate that she would be willing to spend some time with someone like me. I just hope I can go in there before all my hair turns grey.