??, or hanami is a Japanese term that refers to flower appreciation. It’s most commonly used in early spring, to describe the Japanese tradition of celebration when the cherry blossom trees are in bloom.
That happened in most parts of the country about 3 weeks ago, and amongst the more striking images to come out of Japan this year were the following:
That is a town in which a light snowfall occurred during the spring bloom. This is apparently close to the height of beauty as far as the blossoms are concerned, and the photos from the town were widely shared on the Internet.
The above photo was taken in Ueno park, in Tokyo, a couple of weeks back. This was the height of the season, and the park was full of people out to see the blossoms and having picnics. Can you see what they are all taking photos of?
I enjoyed some hanami of my own today, because the grove of cherry blossoms at SUNY is now in bloom:
Its almost exactly one month later than last year.
The flowers only last a few days. For the Japanese, part of the appeal is the transience. Enjoy them while you can.
I thought it was a chicken in the tree, but upon zooming I could see cats!
We had cherry blossoms bloom here a month ago. I wanted to take photos of them, but didn’t get a chance, they were gone by the weekend. Also a week ago we had the white variety bloom.
You’ll meet the cats of Japan soon enough. Outdoor cats are a common fixture almost everywhere it seems, fed by and loved by the locals. Near our ryokan in particular, there is a spot where they congregate.
I expect you’ll be photographing them too 🙂