Hanami, or Cherry Blossom viewing is a huge thing in Japan.
From the first buds, people start to get excited. Sakura is the Japanese for Cherry Blossom and is a word that is heard on everyone’s lips during this eagerly awaited period. Sakura is very brief, lasting for about 10 days every spring.
Everyone from babies and children to teenagers and adults take part in Hanami which has been popular since the Heian Period (794)
Hanami brings out the camera for the photographer, the ink for the artist, the cherry blossom kimonos for the ladies and the sense of fun for everyone
There are several locations in and around Kyoto where people go especially for the blossom. One is Arashiyama, where blossom tress grow amongst other trees on the hillside, on either side of a stretch of river. Ladies dress in their special cherry blossom kiomonos for the season.
The Philosophers’ Walk is another hugely popular location for Sakura, or Cherry Blossom.
Another popular cherry blossom viewing area is Maruyama Park, where there are hundreds of blossom trees including this famous old tree, the second generation of a tree that lived 200 years ago. It is exceptionally beautiful and its twisty shape looks equally lovley by day or night. This, the most celebrated of all of the weeping cherry trees in Kyoto is called the Shidare Sakura and it is tended by the cherry tree doctor who is the 16th generation of his family to be entrusted with this responsibility.
A sea of blue plastic is laid out in the park to enable families and friends to reserve their place under a favorite tree and picnic with beer or sake.
Pop up bars and restaurnts appear, set up with tables and cushions to serve drinks and snacks. Closing time is a moveable feast. The waiters work until there are no more customers. Sometimes they work a 20 hour shift but as they say, ‘it’s only for two weeks’.
Engagements and Weddings are very popular during the Sakura Season and one can see engaged coupes in their traditional engagement clothes out on the streets. Occasionally, there is also a wedding to record.
It all ends when the first leaves form on the branches. When they start growing, the petals start falling and the ground is briefly covered in a carpet of pink confetti.