Hanami Party!

April means Hanami mania in Japan and I have been taking every opportunity to enjoy the pretty pink petals floating around Tokyo. Cherry Blossoms are called sakura in Japan and they're a national treasure. Come early April, the newspapers, local parks and nightly news gives full updates on the various cherry blossom viewing spots around town. Once the flowers have bloomed to around 60%, hordes of people head to the parks and picnic under the trees to view the flowers (hence, hanami, which means "flower viewing"). If that sounds a little dull to you, let me add that part of the ritual is to bring massive amounts of yummy food like fried chicken and rice balls and wash it all down with massive amounts of alcohol. Hilarity and silliness ensues of course. Here are some pictures from my hanami adventures around Japan:

My friend Natsuko and I in Shinjuku Gyoen on a rather cold Sunday afternoon

Our Hanami Spread: potato salad, egg omelet, inari, green beans wrapped in pork, fried chicken, rice crackers, mochi and red wine with orange juice. 

It was a busy day at the park, here are our neighbors who got pretty rowdy on champagne. 

Kyoto Style Hanami - more food vendors and little benches and tables.

Another popular hanami spot in Tokyo is Nakameguro. There are lots of cute restaurants and bars that sell drinks to-go so you can stroll down the river and enjoy the flowers. 

View from above. Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. 

Happy Cherry Blossom viewing!