A Stunning Start to Spring...

The Japanese Cherry Blossoms are said to be one of the most beautiful starts to spring so we did our best to organize a trip to Japan to see them in bloom.

We were clearly not alone in our thinking!  Hotel rooms were in scarce supply and we actually ended up having to schedule a trip out of Tokyo for the weekend in order to actually have somewhere to stay.

We were incredibly fortunate though with our timing, arriving on the first when the sakuras (aka. Cherry Blossoms) were in full bloom.  The sakura bloom is very short (often only about a week) and as the timing of the bloom varies every year depending on the weather, planning can be quite tricky.  

  

When the cherry blossoms finally emerge, the locals embrace them to the fullest.  The parks are crammed with people coming to take a look and enjoy this wonderful start to spring. 

The incredible (and orderly!) crowds of people

The locals also embrace a custom called “Hanami” where they set up blue tarps underneath the cherry blossoms and hang out there throughout the day and well into the night.  Offices often send out interns and new employees to secure a good picnic spot and guard it until the other employees can make it after work.

We crammed in a lot of cherry blossom viewing over a few days (visiting Ueon Park (several times!), Yoyogi Park and the Imperial Palace grounds where cherry blossoms abound).  We also took far too many photos.  So although it looks like we have posted tons of photos here, the number is actually a dramatic edit from the 200 photos we actually took!

Even Starbucks got in on the Cherry Blossom action (note the hanging flowers in the store too)!