Cherry Blossoms!

During the month of March and April, cherry blossoms bloom all over Japan. They bloom earlier in warm places and once in bloom, they only last for about a week, so catching a glimpse while they are in full bloom is crucial.

In Sanda where I live now, I think the cherry blossoms were in bloom last week. Ooooh, they are so pretty! The cherry trees often line the side of roads or rivers, and when they are in bloom, you can see miles of pink cherry trees. It's an amazing sight.

Days or weeks before the cherry blossom season, news stations start forecasting when the blossoms will be in full bloom, as knowing the EXACT date of when the blossoms will be in full bloom seems to be critical here.

It seems to be the custom here for family/friends/co-workers to go on a picnic under the cherry blossom trees. That's why they need to know the exact date of the full blossoms, so that companies can plan their picnics and make sure someone makes a mad dash to stake the best spot for the picnic, waaaay early in the morning.

The funny thing is, you'd think that if people are willing to go through so much trouble to get the best view under the cherry blossoms, they'd be environmentally aware and try to take care of the nature surrounding them. But instead, they eat their picnic "bentos" and drink alcohol, get completely drunk, thrash the area, and leave all their litter scattered about. How sad is that, huh? Sometimes, the irony that exists here is mind-boggling. Of course, that's what I see on the news, so I know there must be plenty of other people who also really enjoy the nature and leave it as they found it.

Other than the irony of some of the customs of cherry blossom viewing, there are some beauties of it that I've recently discovered. The cherry blossoms really are pretty during the day too, but more so than that, I've found that they are even more amazing at night, when they're lighted up from the foot of the tree. It's as if the whole tree is glowing and looks like it's "alive" in a way.

So these cherry blossoms, they're only in bloom for about a week, right? Well, towards the end of the week all the petels start to flutter away when the wind blows. THAT is a sight to see. It feels like you're in a dream of some sort, with cherry blossoms gently fluttering by. Time stops and you get caught in the beauty of the moment. I wish you could experience it.

When you look in the river, you can see a lot of cherry blossoms floating on by. Even that's pretty. At first, I was surprised that half the river seemed to be full of soap suds...but then my friend pointed out that they were cherry blossoms and it looked pretty once I realized that.