Ohanami - Pink is Good

I don't think I have ever seen anything as beautiful as the cherry blossoms in bloom in Japan. Judging from the crowds and crowds of Japanese who go to see them, I don't think that I am alone. Ohanami or "flower viewing" is almost like its own holiday in Japan. I was amazed to find that places like 7-11 even sell a special canned sakura or cherry blossom flavored tea around this time, as well as an assortment of other goodies that you can only buy around this time in spring.
	People get together with co-workers or friends or family and picnic under the trees. In some popular ohanami places in Japan, people reserve their ideal location by laying down a tarp days in advance. It is like a typical Japanese festival atmosphere, complete with vendors selling every kind of food imaginable. One of the things that surprised me was that people even line their shoes up on the edges of the tarp, just like they do in the genkan or entrance to their homes. More than just Japan's national flower, the Cherry Blossom is a felicitous symbol. Cherry Blossoms generally bloom in April, which is when the new school year starts and when recent graduates generally begin new jobs. The Cherry Blossom embodies the idea that many people across cultures feel that springtime is a time for renewal and new beginnings. Yet the Cherry Blossom takes it even a step further because their amazing beauty generally lasts for little more than a week until the winds blow the delicate petals off. I've heard that this gives people a sense of purity and change. For me it evoked a similar sense that life is beautiful but ever-changing, a reminder to live every moment to the fullest while we get the chance.
I also felt a sense of romance looking down at the little rowboats in the lake below the Cherry Blossoms.

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