Spring in Japan

Hello friends! It's been a while since our last post - what slackers we were :-( It is now April, a time to have a fresh start...

Spring is really a beautiful time of the year in Japan. Cherry blossoms are blooming all over the place, changing the color of city into pretty pink. In fact, Japanese are very particular about cherry blossoms, that weather forecasts usually release their predictions for when cherry blossoms start blooming. You really don't want to make a wrong prediction here...

One fun spring outdoor event is Ohana-mi, which means flower viewing. This is actually more like a flower-viewing picnic. People throw their tarps under cherry blossoms in a park, bring their own picnic food and beverage, and have fun. This being in Japan, a keg of beer is everywhere and people are drinking in public, with some getting drunk and passed out. This sometimes happens during the day, in a park, next to bunch of kids playing. Lovely!

The picture is from Togoshi Koen park, a rather famous park in Shinagawa, which is located very near our apartment.