blogginNagoya: hanami party

“Break open a cherry tree and there are no flowers,

but the spring breeze brings forth myriad blossoms.”

“In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends.”

The above are just two haikus about flowers by two well-known Japanese who lived in different periods – the former by Ikkyu Sojun, a poet who lived from 1394-1481, and the latter by Kakuzo Okakura, a scholar, 1862-1913 – times before there was the Information Superhighway...

This post is the first about my non-knitting musings - this is about my favourite time of the 4 seasons - the beginning of blooming spring flowers!


Tatsugaike Pond (Dragon Pond), Tsuruma Park

In Japan, cherry blossoms are synonymous with the country. I had only previously read that here, people of all ages gather to celebrate hanami (cherry blossom viewing).

I had the opportunity to enjoy hanami with family and friends for the first time this year. My impression is WAH, but this more than just a gathering… there’s a real party going on! With all the excitement, I’ve just only managed to review all my pics, and here’s the story…

The Tsuruma Park which is usually quiet, becomes alive as one of the many venues around Nagoya City for hanami parties. The trees are adorned with pretty pink lanterns that are lit up in the evening.

a blurry evening vision of hanami

A staked out spot under the sakura tree

Under the sakura (cherry blossom) trees, people staked their spot by laying out blue canvasses. For the more elegant, this comes complete with a low table and legless chairs. We just sat with legs crossed! Reminds me of how cool the spring breeze was still at that time. Vendor stalls too, seem to appear overnight – adding to the carnival like atmosphere – selling food, toys, omikuji (fortune slips), and theres even a beer garden. Then there are also live bands and buskings...

Pics: a hanami weekend in Nagoya. L: a section of the crowds of people; Above: dear Husband carrying two heavy bags of food n drinks to the party.

a busker on his unicycle.

Of course, as the Japanese are also famed for their politeness, acute punctuality, and neatness … rows of huge rubbish bins were neatly lined along strategic areas, each with a label for different kinds of waste (glass bottles, cans, paper, plastic etc.). Its amazing to me that people actually sort their rubbish accordingly (we did too!)

neatly arranged rubbish bins under sakura trees, each bin clearly labelled according to type of waste

Ah, what a great way to celebrate natures gift for just a few days in April every year, after which the green leaves appear as petals fade and in turn, colouring the dark asphalt grounds pinkish…