hanami

This week the cherry blossoms (sakura) are in full bloom here in Tokyo, so on Sunday we went out for hanami, which means "flower viewing" in Japanese. We went to Koganei Park near our house, which is really well-known for it's cherry blossoms.

It is crazy what a big deal this is all over Japan. I cannot really think of a parallel in American culture. The Japanese anticipate the sakura all year along.. and it is all anyone talks about for the 2 weeks or so that it lasts. Then it is over for the year and the anticipation begins for the next year. It's impossible to talk about Spring in Japan without talking about sakura. And trust me, it's also impossible not to be awed by how beautiful they are when they do bloom!

You can see in our pictures that the park was packed, as were all the other parks in Tokyo I'm sure! Everyone came out to enjoy the sakura and the beginning of Spring together. Trent and I joined in the madness and had a picnic like about a bajillion other people did on Sunday afternoon. Although pictures really can't capture how stunning it really is in person, we hope at least some of the beauty comes through...


If you want to see more pictures of this sakura season, go see our photo page! You can find the link in the top, left hand margin of this page!