It is impossible not to say, probably, about the main spring event in Japan — cherry blossoms. The Japanese call admiration for sakura o-hanami (Japanese). 河).
The cherry blossom period is not an official holiday in Japan. There is no national holiday in the Japanese calendar, no special holidays or weekends associated with this magnificent natural miracle. But psychologically, this is undoubtedly a holiday, both for the Japanese themselves and for numerous foreign tourists.
On cherry blossom days, parks, squares, alleys, as well as the territories of Buddhist and Shinto temples with cherry blossoms are visited and spent time in them by a huge number of people. The flowering period is relatively short, so cherry blossoms are admired both in the daytime and in the evening. Evening cherry viewing is incredibly popular: after 6 pm the trees are very skillfully illuminated, and a walk in such an atmosphere is filled with romanticism and some mystery. But, frankly speaking, there is no way to retire in silence — around a lot of people!
The official starting point for the beginning of cherry blossoms is considered to be the time of blooming of the first flowers on the cherry blossom growing in the ancient Buddhist temple of Yasukuni in Tokyo. As soon as the first pink flowers appear from the buds, meteorological services immediately announce the beginning of cherry blossoms this year. Approximate time for Tokyo and its environs — is the end of March, approximately the 20th-25th. Flowering duration — is approximately two weeks.
But the fact is that Japan is significantly stretched from north to south, and in the south of Japan (Kyushu Island and Okinawa Islands) sakura blooms in February. By the way, in more northern regions there are «warm oases», where you can admire the alleys of cherry blossoms in mid-February. One of these «oases» is a place on the Izu Peninsula, about three hours from Tokyo.
The duration of cherry blossoms — is approximately two weeks (Photo: Smileus, licensed from Shutterstock.com)
In the ancient capitals of Japan, Kyoto and Nara, and their adjacent prefectures, the cherry blossoms flourish approximately in the first ten days (up to two weeks) of April.
By mid-April — early May, the «wave» of cherry blossoms spreads further to the north of the island of Honshu. In the first days of May, luxurious parks and sakura alleys delight the eyes of residents of the northern prefectures of Japan (Akita, Iwate, Aomori). Around the 10th of May, residents of the island of Hokkaido can finally enjoy cherry blossoms.
The tradition of admiring cherry blossoms arose at the imperial court during the Heian era (794—1185). The aristocracy, sophisticated in grace and sophistication of manners, spent hours under flowering trees, enjoying light drinks, salon games and folding poetry. In the short brilliant cherry blossoms, aristocrats saw a deep meaning: reflecting on the transience of life, they identified the falling cherry blossoms with courage and purity of thoughts.