Sakura Matsuri (さくらまつり)

Over the weekend I returned home, which was wonderfulllll! I was reunited with my dearest mother again after not seeing her for three months! She must have been so sad and lonely without her beloved daughter at home. ;(

Anyway, aside from seeing my mom, I went to D.C.'s National Cherry Blossom Festival! I had a lot of fun with my friends! I was extremely surprised at how HOT it was in Washington; it was 80°F! I'm so glad I wore my floral skirt! And there were sooooo many people there; it was like swimming in the ocean, but instead of water it was people!

The "sea of people."
Look at them trying to escape the sun's blistering rays.

Unlike my friends who waited in line for an hour and a half for Tako Grill's food, which I must say was super delicious and worth the wait (I had their takoyaki and it was soooo scrumptious! :3), I ventured off with another friend throughout the festival. We visited the Culinary Pavilion, where they were filming an episode of NHK World's Dining With Chef (which will air sometime in late May); Minamoto Kitochan, an extremely expensive wagashi confectionary shop that's located in New York (I went there when I was in NY so I definitely had to buy some more of their treats! I bought two this time for my mom to try! She absolutely loved them! Definitely money well spent! :3); AT&T's booth, they were taking pictures then transformed them into hot/cold beverage sleeves; and a bunch of other places.

これはタコグリルのたこ焼きやお茶会だいふくです。
This is Tako Grill's takoyaki and matcha daifuku with adzuki beans.

Other places I visited at the Cherry Blossom Festival included NHK World's Photobooth, my friend Brian and I are now famous since we're featured on NHK World's Official FB page! :3; a bunch of otaku stands from which I bought Shugo Chara key and lock necklaces, a mysterious grab bag which had a lot of kawaii stationary inside from Shop Kawaii; the Taiko performance; the Cosplay fashion show; etc.

There were a lot of people who dressed up this year in cosplay and lolita outfits. Here are just a few of the pictures I took:

Hime Lolita Fashion [purse from MILK (ミルク)]

Honey-senpai from Ouran High School Host Club

And here are some photos I took of the many people wearing kimono and yukata:

One of the Cherry Blossom Princesses

  

Although I took some footage of the festival, I probably won't upload any of it any time soon since I'll extremely busy now that it's the last month of school. But in the meantime, check out my friend's Youtube video of the festival here! :)