Sakura
It’s that time of year again. Japanese people love this. It’s the one-week period when the Cherry Blossom trees are in full bloom. All too often, the unstable weather at the beginning of Spring will lessen the impact of the trees; one strong rainfall, especially with heavy winds, can ruin an entire viewing season before revelers get a chance to enjoy them. But this year, in Tokyo at least, everyone got a break: the blossoms came into full bloom on Saturday (though it was a bit chilly), and despite a Saturday night storm that had unusually strong winds, the blossoms stayed put just long enough for the trees to still be beautiful on Sunday, when the temperature shot up 8˚ C (15˚ F) for a 24˚ (75˚) partly sunny day.
So millions of Japanese people were doing what they always do when this time rolls around: they lay out blue tarps on just about every inch of space under the Cherry Blossom trees, and party as the petals fall. Beer is a favorite (and often times the area smells of it), but people lay out full picnics, including portable gas stoves and everything they can cook, drink, or snack on, while kids run about like crazy. I’ve never been a huge fan of this pastime, but you have to admit, the white-and-pink boughs contrasted against the near-black bark of the trees is quite a pretty sight on a beautiful spring day. Sachi and I went blossom-viewing both weekend days, Saturday along the Meguro River, and Sunday in a local park. Here are some photos from the walks. Enjoy.
Because of their popularity, Sakura trees are everywhere,
lining streets and rivers in abundance.
This is what you see when you look up.
The Brown-eared Bulbuls love the blossoms as a snack; they were all over the trees.
The petals fell in such abundance that they often looked like drifts of snow on the streets and rivers.
Here’s a close-up of one of the covered areas of the Meguro River. (Click for larger view)
Notice the petals drifting in the breeze just above ground level.
If you walk in such a drift while looking down,
it’s like walking in a river of petals.
And sometimes, when a good gust of wind comes along, it looks like it’s snowing.
Click for larger image.
Revelers.
And let’s finish today’s post with a nice image of two isolated petals, growing almost directly off the tree trunk’s bark. Sachi spotted this one, and it seemed too poetic to pass up. Click for a larger image.
Silly question, but is there any particular reason why it’s BLUE tarps?
Good question. And, not trying to be flippant or anything, but it’s probably simply because that’s the color that’s sold in the stores, I guess. Maybe there’s some significance to the color, but I couldn’t say. I know I have seen some other colors, some makeshift stuff laid down, maybe green tarps, but on the whole it’s blue.
Which leads me to wonder, why are most tarps that color, anyway? I’m thinking about the TV show LOST, and their tarps are the same blue color. And most tarps I’ve seen sold anywhere tend to be blue, as I recall–not yellow or orange or red or purple or white. Not even dark blue or light blue. Maybe green (though not dark green or light green), possibly black (though not grey or charcoal). I wonder why?
Great, now look what you’ve done! I won’t be able to shake this! Maybe I should submit the question to “The Straight Dope.”