Spring is in the air and with it comes the soft and beautiful spectacle of cherry blossom time in Japan.  I’ve never been a big fan of springtime.  I prefer the crisp winds and bright leaves of fall.  Growing up in Canada, springtime to me meant muddy puddles from the dirt-covered melting snowbanks, and a pungent smell from autumn’s once-beautiful now-rotting leaves.  But since coming to Japan I’ve found a new appreciation for it.

Cherry blossoms, or sakura (桜 or 櫻)  are the symbol of spring in Japan and to the world a symbol of Japan itself.    The Japanese are big on seasonal symbols and so sakura time is a very important part of the yearly cycle here.  Depending on the length and severity of the winter it can begin at the end of March or the start of April.  This year we experienced a cold snap after the blossoms had already begun to appear which caused them all to halt their progress.  While it made me impatient at first it proved to be a stroke of luck as the sakura were in full bloom on the day of my school’s Entrance Ceremony For New Students.   The petals drifted gently past the Japanese flags at the gates as students wearing brand-new uniforms filed into the school.

Cherry blossoms in Japan are not just a symbol of spring, but also a representation of the beautiful transience of life.  The tiny pink flowers bloom and fall away in a matter of days, so if you want to enjoy them there is no time for dawdling.  Time and sakura wait for no man.  Most schools have sakura trees planted around their grounds, and so I have spent four springs waiting for the first flush of colour outside the office windows.  As soon as sakura appear I rush outside to stand under the branches and let the warm sun and sweet smell drift over me.  After a cold winter spent huddled in layers of sweaters indoors, my trip outside to greet the sakura is often my first incentive to spend any amount of time outside in the fresh air.

And I’m certainly not the only person to feel this way.  Sakura viewing is such a widely enjoyed activity that it has its own name: hanami (花見).  This literally means “flower viewing” and it is popular on the order of Canada Day/Fourth of July.  Families and coworkers gather in parks and on mountain tops to sit on blankets under the trees and eat delicious boxed meals (bento) together.  It is a chance for them to lay down their ever-present work and take some time to just enjoy nature and each other.  Oh, and to get incredibly drunk.
Every year my friends and I have gathered Takamatsu City’s ancient and famous Ritsurin Park for hanami.  We’d spread out on our plastic tarps, eat our bento, and drink some chuhai.  During the winter it’s hard to work up to motivation to travel, so some of the friends I meet for hanami are people I haven’t seen in four months or more.  It’s a fantastic opportunity to catch up, let loose, and be one with nature.

There is no immunity from sakura fever here.  Once the trees in the south start blooming the newspapers will run features tracking the projected path of the blossoms.  Even now the trees outside have almost dropped all of their petals and the pink is giving way to the bright green leaves.  And no, once the flowers are gone I can’t console myself with fresh cherries - the sakura trees of Japan are non-fruit producing.  But that doesn’t stop me from enjoying them.  Four years and four great hanami have left me feeling much more positively toward spring.

Now, you may be thinking “That’s all well and good, Angelina, but aside from your pictures I can’t really do hanami myself, so what’s so great about it?”  Well, let me answer that by asking: did you know that you can experience hanami in many countries besides Japan?  Probably not, if you asked that first question, but anyway.   I first learned of non-Japanese hanami festivals in an article from The Japan Times: “Scottish Town Takes To ‘Hanami’”.  Oh, and from another article about the cherry blossom trees in Washington DC.  My esteemed co-author Chantelle did a little digging for me and located this:

Sakura Matsuri events in the US and Canada:
National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, DC
International Cherry Blossom Festival, Macon, Georgia
Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Branch Brook Park Cherry Blossom Festival, Newark, NJ
Sakura Matsuri, Brooklyn, NY
Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival, Seattle, WA
2009 Cherry Blossom Festival of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, Vancouver, Canada

Via http://blog.ningin.com/2009/04/05/time-for-cherry-blossoms-time-for-sakura-matsuri-time-for-hanami/

So!  Aside from the fact that spring is almost over you have no excuses.   Next year I challenge all of you to gather your friends, some blankets, some Lunchables, and head to your nearest sakura-having park to experience spring in a brand new way.   Get out, get some fresh air, and enjoy the fleeting beauty of this tiny pink flower.