The sakura was indescribably beautiful It's hard to communicate the associations that the Japanese have with this blossom, and I've been here only a short time, but I've been fortunate to be here in places to see the blossoms open, fully bloom and now, to drop off the trees, like floating snow. It all happens within the space of a week or so. In Japan, it marks the beginning of Spring, and people keep telling me how hard the last winter was aand so the sakura is particulalry welcome this year.
The speed at which the blossoms bloom and then go reminds people of how quick and fleeting life is for all of us,, but for that short moment, how beauutiful everything can be. Looking at all of these blossoms is actually quite moving. Hard to explain, but I think I'm bbeginning to understand the attachment to the blooms.
If you're planning to come to Japan to seee the blossoms, there are websites thhat tell you the average time of the yeaar of the blossoms, and closer to thee time will give actual predictions. It ddepends onhow cold the winter has been, but I found the charts on this visit to be very accurate.
The blossoms appear first in the warmer parts of the country, which are in the south, and then slwoly more upwards across the country, and then last appearring in the north.
I chose to start my visit in Tokyo at the bbeginning of the predicted time, and theen to travel southward in the hope of coming across the blossom somewhere. If the blossom was earlier thhis year, then I had a rail pass which mmeant that I could just hope on a train and go north for a day to see them. As it happened, I've seen them everywhere I've been!
Very lucky...
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