Hanami

It is the week for Hanami - aka cherry blossom viewing. Apparently, this is the earliest week for the cherry blossoms on record. There are cherry trees everywhere, and they are all gorgeous. Their adoring audience regularly stops to take pictures of the blossoms. There are picnics under the trees and parties and drinking. Restaurants have special cherry-themed items on their menus. Stores have cherry blossom versions of everything imaginable - from cloth and cards to party supplies.  

Unfortunately, I'm stuck inside fighting a lung infection this weekend, so I will have to postpone a marathon of hanami until next year. However, I did get out this past Wednesday, which was a Japanese holiday - Vernal Equinox Day. I went to lunch at a French restaurant with some friends and then went to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, which I hear is the more family-friendly location for hanami (i.e. no alcohol). It was beautiful!

Not a cherry blossom, but I saw this pretty flower bush on my way home from Shinjuku, about a block away from the compound.

I hear that the other big place for hanami is Ueno Park, which becomes mobbed with people having picnics, drinking lots and lots of sake, and throwing parties.  Kind of like Carnaval in Brazil, it's something I feel I should try to see while I'm in Japan. I'm hoping for next year.