Cherry Blossoms

It's Cherry Blossom time in Japan - I think I've always heard that this was an important time, but never really realized just HOW important... The biggest blooming day was over the weekend and let me tell ya - people were EVERYWHERE. I guess it must mark the official end of winter and start the time to wander around freely again. I'm not sure if it's the fact that cherry trees are planted everywhere or what, but there really are trees everywhere and there are certain places that you can just walk and walk and view the blossoms. Add to that the fact that Japanese people must all do the same things at the same time and you have lots and lots of people!
Now, they are pretty, but I'm not sure that I would go for miles and miles to view them - however, that being said, they certainly make the big tall buildings look better!
The Japanese word for cherry is "sakura" and they call the celebration of the sakura "hanami" - everyone gathers in specific parts of the town where there are many blossoms, lay out there BIG tarps, and have picnics, while drinking lots and lots of sake. There also is apparently a tradition of people moving from group to group "singing for sake."
Chris was away this past weekend, so we didn't head out to enjoy this Japanese tradition. We did see some trees around our home and enjoy their beauty. When the wind blows the trees, it seems to "rain" blossoms. It really is pretty.
As I took a taxi ride this afternoon past Aoyama Cemetary, you can see that the season is almost over. Hopefully we will be able to get out for a picnic this afternoon - after all, it's apparently good luck for a blossom to fall in your drink while you sit under a tree.
I'll include some pictures of the trees so you can see the beauty of the blossoms - they almost truly look fake but really are quite stunning to see - especially after a winter of dreariness.