Hanami-mi

It's that time again! The cherry blossoms are back and have been sweeping up the country for the past few weeks. The Japanese government even has a department that predicts and tracks the progress of the blooms for the year. As each region's sakura explode to life, crowds flock to each prefecture and each town and each park to participate in one of the most ancient and sacred of Japanese traditions: hanami.

For about three months, Japan enjoys watching the blossoms bud, bloom, peak and are swept from their branches. The procession ascends Japan's complexion like a sake-induced flush. How appropriate, yes?

This weekend, I went south to Sendai to watch some hanami goers...what I like to call, "hanami-mi."

 At the station, there was a large coral set up where people could buy beautiful bento! Urchin, tuna, ikura, egg, and so many other delicacies were for sale. Of course, this is Sendai, so you could also buy lunch sets with the signature staple of Sendai: beef!

Nishi Park is one of the most popular places in Sendai for hanami. I got the feeling it's mostly popular with families with younger children. There was a playground down the hill and the park is near a couple schools. Giant blue tarps were laid out for office workers out for their lunch break. Small tables were set close to the food stands for those who wandered into the park for a quick snack. And families spread their colorful tarps to feed their children home-made onigiri and freshly purchased takoyaki or yakisoba.

 I met a lot of very friendly people in Sendai. And believe it or not, most of them spoke fairly good English. Our conversations involved the same points of interest: Where are you from? Why are you in Sendai? How long have you been in Japan? Are you here by yourself? One man asked if he could take my picture under a sakura tree. He just moved to Sendai from Tokyo and was experiencing a whole new hanami. I ran into another couple on the hike up the earthquake-damaged road to the Sendai Castle ruins. They each took a couple pictures with me and implored me to enjoy the flowers. On my way down the same road, a traffic cop suddenly asked me, "How are you?" in strong English! Same questions, "Have a nice day," and "Take care." Color me impressed!

If Nishi Park is for young families, then Tsutsujigaoka Park is for party animals. There is still a playground for kids nearby, but a larger park means a wider sampling of your typical hanami goers. Young families and small and large groups of high schoolers. But also, you see skateboarders, office workers and college students...all in various stages of sobriety! One corner of the park was literally crawling with drunken flower viewers. You could actually smell the beer in the air! But everyone was having a good time, so it's all good.

So that was Sendai hanami. Up next, Kitakami and Tenshochi Park! Already, the food stands are set up at the park and paper lanterns are hanging from the trees. But it's going to be a couple more weeks before the peak season. It'll still be a lot earlier than last year's peak! 

In the meantime, I'll endure the wait by getting back into teaching!