桜・Chelly Brossoms
When I left Japan on St. Patrick’s Day, the news was announcing March 26th as the peak day for chelly brossoms in Osaka. When I arrived on the 29th, I was afraid I had missed the best of the blossoms only to find out that the weather had turned cold when I left, and thus, the blossoms were delayed. It’s difficult to be at the mercy of Mother Nature and plan お花見 (Ohanami---Cherry Blossom Parties.) Sa told me that her husband had to go to one last week despite the fact that the blossoms were not yet out.
Twice this week I have had lunch in the park surrounding Osaka castle. The cherry blossoms are out, and there are tons of people picnicking and enjoying themselves under the branches of the cherry trees. (I do have to wonder what all these people actually do since they are sitting under cherry trees in the middle of the afternoon, drinking, on a weekday!)
When the blossoms are out, it is a gorgeous sight: light pink, delicate flowers covering the trees. I’ve found that it is more interesting to watch the people looking at the flowers than actually look at the flowers themselves. Don’t misunderstand me; they are one of nature’s many beauties. But the people and their reactions are priceless. It is fun walking through an area where there are a lot of cherry trees in the evening and seeing all the groups out drinking and eating and enjoying each other’s company.
Yozakura (夜桜) is a great time. “Yo” means evening, so this is viewing the cherry blossoms at night. I went to a Hanami party with some co-workers this evening. Everyone was commenting on how beautiful the Yozakura are. It is beautiful, but it would have been better had it not been so cold. If it were about 10 degrees warmer, it would have been perfect. In any case, this is the signal that spring is here. Enjoy the season.
When I left Japan on St. Patrick’s Day, the news was announcing March 26th as the peak day for chelly brossoms in Osaka. When I arrived on the 29th, I was afraid I had missed the best of the blossoms only to find out that the weather had turned cold when I left, and thus, the blossoms were delayed. It’s difficult to be at the mercy of Mother Nature and plan お花見 (Ohanami---Cherry Blossom Parties.) Sa told me that her husband had to go to one last week despite the fact that the blossoms were not yet out.
Twice this week I have had lunch in the park surrounding Osaka castle. The cherry blossoms are out, and there are tons of people picnicking and enjoying themselves under the branches of the cherry trees. (I do have to wonder what all these people actually do since they are sitting under cherry trees in the middle of the afternoon, drinking, on a weekday!)
When the blossoms are out, it is a gorgeous sight: light pink, delicate flowers covering the trees. I’ve found that it is more interesting to watch the people looking at the flowers than actually look at the flowers themselves. Don’t misunderstand me; they are one of nature’s many beauties. But the people and their reactions are priceless. It is fun walking through an area where there are a lot of cherry trees in the evening and seeing all the groups out drinking and eating and enjoying each other’s company. 
Yozakura (夜桜) is a great time. “Yo” means evening, so this is viewing the cherry blossoms at night. I went to a Hanami party with some co-workers this evening. Everyone was commenting on how beautiful the Yozakura are. It is beautiful, but it would have been better had it not been so cold. If it were about 10 degrees warmer, it would have been perfect. In any case, this is the signal that spring is here. Enjoy the season.
posted by agiawb | 6:09 AM
2 Comments:
I'm working on a post about cherry blossoms too! Your pictures are gorgeous. Wish I were there to sip chu-hi with you:-)
Wish you were here too. (Thanks for the compliment on the photos, but I think the subject matter just lends itself to great photos.)
Funny thing is, when I went to the Hanami with my co-workers, I had a can of ume-shuu. So, I was sitting there under the cherry blossoms thinking about the plum blossoms and my plum alcohol (ume-shuu.)
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