Hanami

Hanami in Komaba Koen, Tokyo

The beautiful cherry blossom has returned once more to Japan.....truly wonderful and uplifting. However, at the same time, I know that within a week of so, the blossom will have fallen and Tokyo will return to the usual concrete and steel. It's funny how the cherry blossom can invoke such contrarian feelings.

Because of the multiple disasters in March 2011, I think that the cherry blossom passed unnoticed and perhaps unappreciated by many. Not only did all people in Japan have a lot to worry about, it would perhaps have been inappropriate to have celebrated the cherry blossom season last year when so many people had lost their lives in the north east of the country.

Maeda House

So the cherry blossom this year feels a bit more special. I was kindly invited to attend a hanami (the Japanese world for a cherry blossom party) at Komaba Koen, near Shibuya in central Tokyo. I didn't actually know most of the people at the party, so it was good to meet and talk to new folk. In true Japanese style, we sat on plastic sheeting under the cherry blossom trees, drank, snacked, and exchanged small talk. Very pleasant indeed!

After the hanami, a small group of us went to the Hobgoblin pub in Shibuya for a couple of pints. I was pretty pleased to be able to order a pint of Scottish Belhaven beer. A good day spent with good people.

April

By all known standards, March was certainly a terrible month. My guess is around to 25,000 fatalities in the earthquake and following tsunami. Life certainly does hang by the thinnest of threads.

There have been some strong aftershocks recently, with another scary one tonight. However, most people in Japan will be hoping for stability and a return to normality. The people who died cannot be brought back to life, so the greatest contribution should be a swift return to normality.

In March I blogged 14 times - an all time record, but one which I hope not to repeat. I hope for a return to a twice monthly blog which focuses on the comforting minutiae of life. When you experience such situations first hand, your hopes and aspirations certainly change.

The cherry blossoms are now starting to show, let us hope they augur better times.

Cherry Blossom Time (again)

It's cherry blossom time again - another sign of the relentless passing of the years in Japan. Cherry blossoms fill me with equal amounts of pleasure and sadness. Pleasure at the fantastic beauty of it all and sadness at how fleeting the appearance of the blossom is. A metaphor for life itself for many Japanese people (and the long term expat community).

I'm glad I have managed to sample a brief moment of the cherry blossom mania that grips Japan each year. Yesterday Yuki, Clara and I went to Koganei Park, a short journey from our house, to have our own little hanami (Japanese for cherry blossom viewing party). We bought some snacks and a couple of beers and lazed around in the park for an hour or so along with thousands of other people. Yuki told me that there are about 1,700 cherry in Koganei Park so it is obviously a good place to visit around cherry blossom time. There were various stalls selling food and games for the masses. A local pizza company even had the ingenuity to walk among the crowds taking orders - good idea but how on earth they would manage to deliver the correct pizzas to the right group has been vexing me for the past day. Must have been chaotic.After sitting on our mat, we took a stroll and then Clara and I played tennis for a bit. Sora (our little mutt) was very popular and got a lot of attention.

After we returned home, we had dinner together and then I went into Shibuya to meet an old colleague and some former students from the Japan Bank of International Development (JBIC). We had a good time chatting and had a few beers at TGI Fridays. After that we went to karaoke for an hour and then there was a mad rush to the station to catch the train home.  With work and family responsibilities, I rarely venture into town and am a bit of a hermit these days. Quite a change from my life back in Britain, and not a positive change in my opinion. I really should make an effort to socialise more......

Today there was the local Kumegawa cherry blossom carnival. We are really lucky that our balcony overlooks the street where the mini Rio-esque style parade takes place. Great to just stand there and watch the scantily clad ladies jiggle by. 

And now work beckons once more. Last week was really busy and I have a pile of work waiting on my desk for me to get stuck in to. 

Hope all is well with the readers, if indeed there are readers. Will post another blog soon.

Cherry Blossom

This photo shows the street outside our flat. The street looks a lot nicer at this time of year because the cherry trees are in full bloom. We are lucky enough to have cherry trees outside our balcony.

Before I came to Japan, I did not really understand the fuss about cherry blossom season. However, after living here a few years, I find myself also getting excited about this time of year.

At cherry blossom time, even the drabbest of streets can look pretty. Japanese people love to have hanami parties and various festivals are held around the country. When the TV weather forecast is given, there are also special maps which show the advance of the cherry blossom front from Okinawa in the south to Hokkaido in the north.

Unfortunately, at any one location, the blossom only lasts for about 1 week. After that, the petals fall like large snowflakes and the streets become drab once again.

On Friday, we all attended the opening ceremony at Clara's new primary school. The school grounds had an abundance of cherry trees and they added a bit of colour to her first day at school. More on this in my next posting.