Sun on a Wire

On this day the kosa was blowing around and the sky was grey except for where the sun was setting. The blowing sand made it so that the sun looked like a ball floating in the sky.

JR Tokoku Honsen

From Wikipedia:

The Tōhoku Main Line (東北本線 Tōhoku-honsen?) is a 575.7 km long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Although officially the line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo, most of the long-distance trains actually begin at Ueno Station in Taitō, Tokyo, and pass through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukushima, and Sendai, before reaching the end of the line in Morioka. The Tōhoku Main Line runs mostly parallel to the Tōhoku Shinkansen.

The 159.9 km long portion of the line between Ueno Station and Kuroiso Station in Nasushiobara, Tochigi is often referred to as the (JR) Utsunomiya Line. A portion of the Tōhoku Main Line is also shared with the Keihin-Tōhoku Line (29.6 km between Tokyo Station and Ōmiya Station in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama) and the Saikyō Line (18.0 km between Akabane Station in the Kita ward of Tokyo and Ōmiya Station).

It says it is often referred to as the Utsunoiya Line, but it is officially referred to that on all the signs and platforms in Ueno.

Just Blooming

Even though there were only a few blossoms that had just started opening, this was my favorite tree at Shiogama Shrine.

Kobai From Below

Looking up at the red plum blossoms from below.

Kobai Plum Blossoms

These awesome red blossoms are called kobai (紅梅). The fact that I remember that proves that I do in fact listen to her mother sometimes.

Shiki Sakura

This kind of sakura is called a shiki sakura (四季桜) which means four seasons. I don't know why it is called that, but this was the only sakura tree in bloom when I went to Shiogama Shrine, so maybe it is called that because they bloom early.

Soft Sakura

If you go to Shiogama Shrine, be sure to go to the Shiogama Fish market.