Continuing her travel, Niki visits a cherry orchard at the beginning of this chapter before making her way to a temple. At the temple, she meets the temple’s caretaker, an old lady at the age of 86. The granny takes Niki around the temple and shows her how prayers are done. Through their conversations, Niki learns about the granny’s past. (It’s something about her husband. I’m not sure.) The granny gives Niki a charm to bless her love life, hoping she will find happiness in her next romance, and they make a promise that the next time Niki visits, she will bring her partner along.

The next stop is Kamanokoshisakura, where Niki enjoys the sight of an 800 year old cherry blossom tree. In town, she goes to a restaurant where she watches as well as tries "dough whacking", which is a Japanese method to make mochi. Afterward, Niki visits a public bath house. She interviews the owner and also plays shogi (chess). Niki then gets a chance to watch traditional Japanese dances, specifically the type called "nihon buyo". You can read about the dances and history here.

Moving on to Tsuruoka, Niki visits an udon master, who teachers her to make udon. (Niki learns rather fast!) She then goes to a park and this time, spots a 1200 year old cherry blossom tree. The location is not only a tourist attraction but also a place for many families, friends, and couples to relax during their free time. Finally, by a river, Niki listens to an old gentleman play the bass and also makes a few sounds on it herself after he leaves. (Niki doesn’t play any instrument does she?)

Don’t forget to go to the Sakura Memories album in the Photobook for more pictures!

Preview

Thoughts

Sakura Memories went from educationally interesting last chapter to touching at the beginning of this chapter to an uplifting and relaxing piece of art. However, I like the first chapter better. This one grabbed my attention at the beginning but got a little boring in the second half. Whenever Niki gets to eat though, I got really hungry too! All the food looks so delicious. Therefore, a warning to anyone planning to watch this–make sure you’re eating something or is already full while watching.

Some scenes in Sakura Memories remind me a lot about anime I’ve seen. At the beginning when Niki was munching on those cherries, I immediately started thinking about this picture of Enma Ai from Jigoku Shoujo. It was funny for me because I just pointed at the screen going, "Oh! Oh! Oh!" (LOL.) In any case, I’m really enjoying what Sakura Memories has to offer so far and I expect it to get better. The least that this travel show is would be a very good tourist guide. But it is definitely more than that.