The sakura blossom season has just started in Japan. The first bloom took place in Tokyo on March 21st this year. The blossom will now go up to Hokkaido in about 5 or 6 weeks time. It’s time for the Japanese and millions of tourists from around the world to admire the infinite shades of pink covering the country.
For Japanese people, the sakura blossom is way more than just taking nice pictures under the trees. It’s like a whole occupation: waiting for the blossom to start, observing the first buds open and finally get really crazy at the peak of the blossom! Each year, the Japanese Meteorological Association releases a Sakura forecast so that everybody can get ready for the blossom everywhere in Japan. Needless to say, it’s one of the most beautiful sights you can have! This is also the moment when people get ready for hanami.
Hanami is a traditional social way to celebrate the cherry blossom: family and friends gather under the cherry trees to have a picnic, sitting on a blue blanket and enjoying the sight of the flowers. It does not have to be a very sophisticated picnic: as long as you have food, drinks, cups and plates, hanami is on! This is the most Japanese way to enjoy the sakura blossom.
This sakura season 2017, Fabienne went to chase the blossom from south to north, starting in Fukuoka ending up in Sapporo. She sent us nice pictures and posted videos on Facebook, Instagram and on her blog “A la Recherche du Pain Perdu” (for those who read French).
