As soon as I entered the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, I spotted a girl in kimono! I took this to be a good omen.

What do you know, a GUY in kimono! This trend is definitely catching on!

The torii.

Dave and I! This is starting to be a Sakura Matsuri tradition.

Avian Firefly and her boyfriend! It was so great to see them again, I hadn't seen them since my wedding!

A mama turtle and a baby turtle!

There were SO many more people in kimono this year! I remember when Usagi Seion, JenyBean and I used to be the only ones!

And so many more people are wearing it properly as well!

I borrowed JenyBean's kimono (she wore this one back in 2004) this year.

My own kimono probably could've been tied a little tighter.

My traditional visit to the mini Shinto shrine.

I tied my own obi this year, too. It came out much better than the one I did in 2008.

The waterfall!

A Japanese latern.

We had such a beautiful day.

This guy had a weapon AND a kimono!

These ladies were actually from Japan! The one closest to me spoke English so we were able to communicate.

David's dream harem.

The ladies were SUPER nice.

I decided fairly early on that I was only going to photograph kimono clad festival goers, not cosplayers.

Sadly, this was the extent of the cherry blossoms this year. They bloomed REALLY early.

Ordinarily I'm not a fan of Western accessories with kimono, but these strappy sandals really compliment it nicely!

I made an exception for cosplayers wearing kimono-inspired costumes.

There were quite a few of them!

Another lovely kimono.

I love the print on this yukata. I think the next one I buy for myself will be similar to this.

This dude's outfit was very awesome.

I think they're cosplaying, but I don't know what. Their kimono are beautiful though!

Again, more beautiful women in beautiful kimono.

These girls were practicing for something, I think they were going to be performing later.

While I wasn't really intending on photographing Lolitas, either, I made an exception for these extremely cute Wa-Lolis.

Do you know what's cuter than a girl in a kimono? A very tiny girl in a very tiny kimono!

I spotted all of these ladies on the Cherry Esplanade leading up to the event tent.

This girl's yukata looked so similar to my own, I actually had to look up pictures of my first Sakura Matsuri to see if they were the same! There are slight variations, however.

Inside of the event tent.

There were performances going on, food vendors, and merchandise tables.

This girl I met picked a WONDERFUL color combination for her kimono and obi!

This lady offered to stand up so that I could photograph her, but she looked so perfect the way she was I wanted to photograph her just that way.

Same here, I really wanted to capture this kimono lady in repose.

Now, I broke my "no cosplayers" rule because not only did these girls have AMAZING costumes, but...

...they have BIRDCAGES on top of their wigs with little tiny fake birdies in the cages! How adorable is that?

I actually got a great photo WITH a great background for once!

I think this couple is cosplaying, but I'm not sure what.

You can see some of the crowd relaxing on the Cherry Esplanade.

A Japanese peony. At least some things were in bloom!

If you click on this thumbnail, the full-size picture should be large enough for you to read the description of The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden.

The walk around the Japanese garden is so incredibly peaceful.

Fishies! I love the fishies.

Dave and I