By the lush green trees it’s clear hanami season is well and truly over – in Tokyo at least. The vivid leaves are pretty in themselves but the white pink clouds of sakura (cherry blossom) were something else.
This was my first experience of full blown sakaura – and I understand the hype.
I’d seen the commercialisation – the sakura bubble bath the sakura mochi and of course the sakura Starbucks latte (had I been sucked in enough by the shiny adverts to buy one I could confidently report that it tasted like plain old sweetened milk).
I didn’t really see how a few blossom could warrant the amount of fuss.
Then I went to Nakameguro.
There’s several spots in Tokyo recommended as cherry blossom viewing spots. Ueno and Yoyogi parks are popular but as my friend is expecting a baby we didn’t partake in the traditional hanami party – a drunken picnic while supposedly taking in the beauty of nature and musing on how the short-lived splendour reflects the transience of life. Perhaps the beer is designed to numb that transience part.
The sneak preview of the river scene, glimpsed as the train drew in, was enough to trigger a loud collective “ehhhhhhhhhhh” (the sound of surprise/amazement/admiration in Japanese). Admittedly, sometimes an ehhhhhh is easily triggered, but even I thought “ooh well look at that.”
It wasn’t hard to find the river, after lunch at a Singaporean cafe, as we followed the masses to the main event. A marshall was announcing which direction to take to prevent congestion – yes – crowd control for flower watching.
But then these were seriously impressive flowers.
Branch after branch of sakura lining the river as far as you can see. Up close it looks white; from a distance it’s the pink tint that lends itself to all that merchandise.
Probably best if I show you my snaps.
Flower lined
Delicate pink
Small but perfectly formed
Blossom canopy
Petals on the water
After too short a time the petals begin to fall – but that in itself is a spectacle. There’s a tree in the graveyard that’s overlooked by our office window and a breeze would send a hail of petals fluttering by. “Hanafubuki” is Japanese for “flower snow storm” and it’s pretty magical.
If you’re planning a trip to Japan hitting the hanami season is easier said than done as it blooms at different times every year; this year was very early in fact. But if you do fall lucky, save yourself some yen on those lattes and enjoy Japan in her prettiest party dress.
Green Tea Diaries 