Wednesday 10 June 2015

Cherry Blossoms and Easter

Time keeps getting away from me! Cherry blossom season was beautiful, as usual. I went to one hanami (flower viewing) event in Omiya Park. The park was full of people, as is usual for this time, but it was also full of food carts selling the usual festival fare: takoyaki, yaki tori, yaki soba, dorayaki, cotton candy, chocolate dipped bananas and marshmallows, candy apples, and many other things. 

Crazy multicoloured sakura or ume, maybe.

Beautiful sunny lunchtime hanami. During hanami season, I often have lunch at the river near school. It is lined with Sakura and it is a very picturesque spot for a lunch.


I like how they are pink in the centre. So pretty.


桜吹雪 Sakarafubuki, or Sakura blizzard signals the inevitable end of cherry blossom season.

This isn't 桜吹雪, it's actual snow! In April! Crazy! 

To finish off a lovely Sakura season, we had a dump of snow that coincided with the opening of school and the entrance of new students. It was a lot of fun to have snow, especially to wake up to snow. I already miss the cold :(

Next comes Easter! Easter is hardly recognized in Japan, and when it is, it's associated with Disney. In the spring, just like in the US, Disneyland in Tokyo decorates for Easter. So most people are only exposed to Disney's Easter. 

This is the tiny Easter display at my local grocery store, and this is pretty big and impressive. As you can see, the main candy is Disney-related and the symbol is an Easter egg, not an Easter bunny. 

The sign says "Happy Easter. Let's celebrate spring!"

So Easter hasn't caught on yet, but with any luck, Costco and Disneyland will educate the masses on the appropriate way to observe Easter.