June is really probably not one of the best times to be in Tokyo. Endless days of rain, laundry that doesn't really dry, excursions cut short because of squalls...
However the plentiful watering does bring one positive event with it: the riotous blooming of hydrangeas. An attractive weed, they grow easily and brighten up the city and parks with their shades of blue, violet and pink blush.
One of the most famous places to view a whole hillside of blooms is Hasedera in Kamakura, a major temple close to the giant bronze Buddha. Of course, this means that on weekends you have to wait for hours for a chance to shuffle up and down the stairways amongst the flowers, which is not my idea of a good time.
To beat the crowds and enjoy the flowers at leisure, I trekked out to Hase Station first thing in the morning on a weekday. Arriving at the temple gates at 8:30 am, there were only a handful of elderly photography enthusiasts and a couple of cats to contend with.
I love the watercolour shades of hydrangeas, the delicate differences in shading making each one unique (and surprisingly hard to photograph well).
To complete the outing I meandered my way by foot to Kamakura station, enjoying the quiet shotengai (as the town only really starts moving around 11am). As a treat before hopping back on the train home, I rewarded myself with a murasaki imo icecream, the colour of which is wonderfully reminiscent of the flowers I came to see.
Those flowers are gorgeous! What a great little outing.
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