Hanami in Japan
Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) has been a Japanese custom since the 7th century when the aristocrats enjoyed looking at beautiful Sakura and wrote poems. Sakura is a symbol of Japan, and it’s said that there are over four hundred varieties of cherry trees in Japan. The most popular kind of Sakura which can be viewed everywhere in Japan is somei-yoshino (Yedoensis). Japanese cherry trees do not yield fruits like other cherry trees. Hanami and cherry blossom festivals are held all over Japan in spring. In Hanami parties, people have fun, drinking, eating, and singing during the day or night. It is like a picnic under Sakura trees. Usually, people bring food, do BBQ, or buy food from vendors for Hanami parties. Among various food people eat in Hanami, Dango is the most common. In popular Hanami spots, there are even competitions for the best spots. In Kyoto, spring is a good season since Kyoto’s historical sites are famous spots for Sakura.
Cherry blossoms flower at different times throughout Japan. The cherry blossoms begin blooming in January in Okinawa, and they are at their peak in late March to April in Honshu region. In Hokkaido, cherry blossoms usually become in their peak in May. The blooming period of Sakura is very short. Hanami is one of the most popular events of Spring. Crowds of people – families, groups of friends, and groups from companies sit under the fully open cherry blossoms, usually on plastic tarps, and have a picnic celebration. The picnic fare consists of a wide variety of foods, snack foods, and sake (rice wine) or other drinks. The activities often include dancing and karaoke in addition to the cherry blossom viewing. In very popular places such as Ueno Park and Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo the competition for prime picnic spots is intense. Company groups and family members claim spots by arriving very early in the morning and sitting all day long until the real celebrations begin in the evening. It is not unusual to see a young man in a business suit sitting under a cherry tree early in the morning reserving a space for his company. The new employees are traditionally given this job of sitting all day long to reserve space for the company celebration. Spring is the favorite season of the Japanese and tourists visiting the country. The mild weather, the myriad shades of budding greenery, the riot of flowers and the accompanying Hanami culture makes Japan a much loved destination during spring. Hanami or ‘flower viewing’ is a very old tradition in Japan. Though Hanami can be the viewing of any flower, over the centuries it has become synonymous with viewing the famous Sakura or cherry blossoms and experiencing the charm of the unfolding of the Japanese spring.
Nowadays, Hanami is synonymous with having picnics and parties with friends and loved ones under the canopy of Sakuras and enjoying both modern and traditional music. The Hanami season also coincides with the beginning of the academic and fiscal year in Japan, therefore many schools and companies initiate the new comers with Hanami.
Photo: Traveling to Heaven