Hanami Hanami

Wikipedia:

Hanami (花見, lit. "flower viewing") is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms or ume blossoms. From the end of March to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan, and around the first of February on the island of Okinawa. The blossom forecast (桜前線 sakurazensen, literally cherry blossom front) is announced each year by the weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning hanami as the blossoms only last a week or two. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night.

(Thanks Wikipedia, I'm just too busy to blog properly these days!)

------------

My first Hanami party of the season: [There were like 2 blossoms at this time. But I wanted my sister who was visiting to get to see what a Hanami Party was all about. But it rained, and was freezing...but we had a great time!]

Hanami Party Number 2: [it was great! I doubled as a birthday thing for me]

Hanami Party number 3 was in Iwakuni, and was BEAUTIFUL. Perfect perfect time for Hanami:

-----------

I think the key to proper Hanami'ing (yes, I mix Japanese and English a lot) is being there with people you care about! And that was true for all three of the hanami parties that I attended this year! The first was the last week in March, the second was the first week in April, and the third was the second week in April.

There's of course no cherry blossoms left now, but I'm certainly viewing my city's other flowers every day. Hofu is so beautiful. I'm going to miss this place. :)