April 6th, 2008My First Hanami (花見)
Spring is a special time in most countries, as the cold winter has finally started to give way to the warmer weather and budding plant life. This is also the time of year when most young couples feel a little closer and enjoy escaping from the house to take in the wonderful scenery. Of all the spring time rituals that occur around the world, I think that the Japanese tend to enjoy the change in season a bit more than others. Who could possibly not enjoy something so simple as hanami?
Hanami (花見 - literally means “flower viewing”) is one of the oldest and most popular events in Japan. Crowds of people, from families, to friends, to couples, to co-workers, sit under the fully open cherry blossom trees to enjoy some food and, if time permits, the trees. Food can often be purchased at the local food stalls that set up shop in parks around the city as soon as the season breaks, and it’s not unusual to see a bunch of people enjoying a few beer or some sake.
While most people enjoy the view during the day, Reiko and I decided to go during the evening. Suffice to say, we weren’t disappointed. We made our way to Shimin Koen … I think … and paid a ridiculous amount for the privilege of parking in an unused lot. From there we made our way to a nice little area filled with families, couples and a seemingly endless row of food concessions.
An interesting thing to note about these concessions is that, aside from the game stands, there weren’t any unique foods being offered. Every fifth stand was selling takoyaki, and every tenth claimed to have the best yakisoba. While I’m not one to argue with an abundance of Japanese food, it would have been nice for these stands to space themselves out a little more. It’s not fun getting your food and then seeing that you could have saved 30 Yen by walking another 30 meters 
All in all, the evening was enjoyable. Reiko and I had gone with her mother, and we enjoyed quite a bit of the local cuisine. I think the best part about the whole evening was getting to see Reiko enjoy the flowering trees and laughing at the people around her.
That said, it seems that this year’s flower viewing is coming to a close. The warm weather has been here for a solid fortnight, and the trees are starting to shed their petals like delicate flakes of pink snow. It’s only a matter of days before the trees take on their summer colours and we’re left in the wake of endless sakura-lined sidewalks and roads.
Of course, I can’t wait to see next year’s hanami with Reiko.
It was perfect weather for a picnic yesterday. Like you, my family and relatives went over to Shimin Koen, but among the crowds, they couldn’t find anywhere to lay their big blue waterproof mat. They moved on to a smaller park, and I joined up with them later for some beer and barbecue. All in all, a very nice day!