cherry blossoms, the break of winter into spring and a sign of new life. The mountains in the background will radiate with brilliant green colours in the weeks to come
Saturday, 12th April 2008 (updated 29th April)
Well it is that time of the year again, yes that's right, April - the kiddies at school moving up a year after a one week break, some teachers changing schools on the 1st with the day before being their last before transferring, some retiring, the launch of new products and services, the renewal of work contracts, various price increases, the abolition of the fuel tax and the introduction of the identification card to continue to be able to purchase cigarettes from vending machines and stop minors from staying up late to buy some ciggies. These are just
a few of the significance of this particular month in Japan! But no April would be complete without the cherry trees blooming and showing off their terrific pink and purple colours!
a honey bee in action!The last few weeks have seen more rain than usual but the sun came out this morning and the temperature rose making it a perfect day, for those who don't have work, to go do
hanami or cherry blossom viewing in English. I went and took some photos after lunch around Tojo River a few minutes walk from where I live.
cherry blossoms and the beautiful new light green baby leaves slowly sprouting out. A man is sitting by the river catching fish
a shirasagi (White Heron) flying up above that I managed to capture on camera
the blue sky , white fluffy clouds, pink blossoms, green grass and a flowing river allow one to appreciate the beauty of nature
Tomorrow if it doesn't rain like it is forecast to, the cultural exchange association in Shobara is holding a cherry blossom viewing get together in a place called Kuchiwa about an hour or twos drive from where I live so check back on the site in a few days for more photos!
update: The cherry blossom viewing party went ahead as planned despite it drizzling for most of the day and being a little chilly. Many people - including Japanese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Filipino, Chinese, American, Canadian and Australian joined in the fun at the Hotarumi Park in Kuchiwa enjoying the yummy ethic food that people kindly brought in as well as a barbie!
