O-hanami in Japan - Spring 2019

Sakura: Chasing the Cherry Blossoms - more flowers than birds

All pictures © Brigitte & Ueli Huber

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It was not our first trip to Japan, but the first we tried to schedule for the Cherry blossom. We were at least partly successfull.

O-hanami, which means flower-watching (but is almost exclusively used in connection with the sakura or cherry blossom), is a big event in Japan. Forecasts start as early as January, and people plan things around the blossom. We hit the blossom in Fukuoka, with many, many people strolling through Ohori koen, the big park, full of cherry trees, all in full bloom. Many foodstands catered a variety of foods and naturally lots of sweets to the strollers. People were camping out, and we heard that often somebody is sent out early in the day to reserve a good spot for a picnic. It was one big party. I wonder how o hanami was in 2020, with Covid making things difficult to impossible.