Hanami season in March and April is, for many Japanese, the best time of year. This is when the cherry blossom trees all over Japan come in to bloom and people held outdoor parties to view them. The name says it all - hana means “flower” and mi is “to look”. This is a great time of year to visit Japan as the weather is perfect – warm, but not nearly as hot as summer, and everybody is in a party frame of mind.

Spring is a very busy period – accounts have to be finalized, reports finished, and karoshi (death by overwork) is said to peak in March. Deadlines, school graduation ceremonies, government transfers - and then, in April, come the cherry blossoms like a breath of fresh air. This marks the nation's change of focus from hard working to hard playing. Impressive quantities of saké, food is barbequed and songs are sung.

The first hanami took place in the seventh century. Originally a religious rite, it was held on a particular day and the coming harvest was forecasted from the condition of the cherry blossoms. The full blooms were symbolic of a full and bountiful harvest of rice, which the upper classes would celebrate by drinking and eating under the trees. Short plays were performed and women wore brightly colored kimonos or happi coats. It was not until the end of the 7th century that hanami became popular among the working classes. The parties have changed little since then and are much like a big picnic.

One popular snack is dango, a chewy treat made from rice flour. Another is sakura mochi, red kidney-bean paste wrapped in a salt-preserved cherry blossom leaf. Families and workmates gather under the tees. They sing, drink, eat and talk until late in the evening, when lanterns light the parks.

Cherry blossoms, or sakura, have captured the imagination of the Japanese and appear frequently in everyday life. There is a Sakura Bank, and when naming a child, the Japanese often incorporate the character for sakura in the name. The cherry tree motif graces the back of 100 yen coins, and the first song many Japanese children learn is called “Sakura, sakura”.


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