I had no idea what to expect from winter in Japan. I thought we would either be covered in Hokkaido-like snowfields or be covered in lukewarm subtropical rain. But it ended up being all of it. Some days an icy moon would bring freezing North Sea wind, and other days you could get by with a T-shirt and shorts. The air stayed dry, the forests brown, and the streets empty.
Until... little spots of warm weather touched down, and suddenly the brown trees by the river grew dotted with pink, the skies became blue, and the air shed its stuffy winter smog. Like the Earth was saying, "Wake up! Everyone, what are you doing inside, in bed?! Go!"
In Japan, Sakura, or cherry blossom trees, symbolize the end of the cold and the start of something new. Like a storm front, these flowers paint the country in rosy pink in the beginning of April. With them marks the start of the financial year for businesses and the beginning of the spring school semester for students like me. The blooms call things from their slumber, and for friends and families to take part in the annual celebration of Hanami 花見. Hanami means flower viewing, and is a thousand-year-old tradition celebrating the short-lived Sakura flowers and the beginning of a new year.
