Email from Yokohama
April 2009
by Alex Endo

Hi Friends,

Right now, cherry blossoms, the flower that represents Japan, are in full-bloom in Japan. When the cherry blossoms become full-bloomed, people realize that spring has come. There is a row of cherry blossoms near my home, and I enjoy strolling with my dog every morning in this season.

This year it took many days from the beginning of the bloom for cherry blossoms to be full-bloomed, because the cold weather re-occurred. There are a lot of famous places for beautiful cherry blossoms in Tokyo, this photo is Meguro river close to my office. Our staff enjoy having an outdoor lunch under the trees in this season.

I recently visited Melbourne after an interval of three years. Because my elder sister exhibited her quilt work at the Australian Quilt Show at the Royal Exhibition Hall. As I had the experience of living in Melbourne for five years, I played the role of her driver, interpreter and secretary. I went to the Melbourne Royal Botanical Garden at Cranbourne with Mr. John Gee from Global Garden on this trip. This is my first visit to the New Australian Garden at Cranbourne. When I visited Cranbourne three years ago, the Australian Garden was under construction. Mr. John Arnott the Horticulture Manager at the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne guided me around Australian Gardens. I was so impressed by the wonderful design of the garden depicting the earth of Australia and the beautiful Australian plants . I think the Australian Garden at Cranbourne is not known among the Japanese at the moment, but the location of Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne is good for a stop on the way to the penguin parade at Philip Island that is popular with Japanese tourists. I would like to introduce the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne to many Japanese people through my web page. I hope I can visit there again. Thank you so much, Mr. John Gee and Mr. John Arnott for taking me there and guiding me around.