Cherry Blossom Time in Tokyo
08.04.2024
25 °C
Saigyo Hoshi, a 12th century Buddhist monk, wrote of the bittersweet transience of all things and the heartache he felt when cherry blossoms bloomed, knowing that they would soon wither and die… 
Perhaps we had similar thoughts to Hoshi in 2016 when we wrote an ode to the Sakura in Kanazawa that began, “Now that our blossoming youth has faded into memory and our cheeks are rosy with age…” But, unlike Hoshi who died under a flowering cherry tree, we have lived to witness the magic of yet another Japanese spring…. 
However, Hoshi could never have imagined that one poem he wrote more than 800 years ago would be so very true today. He wrote, “The cherries only fault, the crowds that gather when they bloom.”… 
Japan is a country where ancient traditions are revered: none more so than that of picnicking under the cherries on the day of the mankai – the moment of blooming perfection before the first petals fall. It’s a thousand-year-old tradition, but spring had thumbed her nose at el niño and global warming this year and left thousands out in the cold in Koganei park on Saturday as they waited in vain for the mankai…
We had a splendid day in the park and the adjacent museum of Edo buildings together with niece, Heather, who just happens to live here…
Then came Sunday, our last day in Japan – the final day of our ten-week voyage around the Pacific Ring of Fire. Maybe Mother Nature is one of our blog readers? No sooner had we written that she had rather let us down in Japan than she turned on the sun and spun the surly clouds into a canopy of sweet blossoms…
We were warned that the eight-hundred someiyoshino cherry trees in Ueno Park in Tokyo would be outnumbered a thousand to one by visitors on Sunday afternoon, so we went early Sunday morning. We were not alone…
Ueno Park opens at 5am during hanami, the cherry blossom viewing season, and prime spots are immediately snagged by the most ardent picnickers whose blue tarps cover every inch of available space. The day-long event can stretch until the park closes at 11pm so, along with the picnic food and plenty of drinks, comes all manner of toys and games to keep the kids amused…
But picnickers beware. Any unattended tarp will be immediately disposed of – as per the signs… 
We didn’t have a tarp. We didn’t need a tarp. We were happy just to wander under the cherry blossoms and thank Mother Nature for once again allowing us to witness this magical sight – the mankai in Japan.
You are indeed fortunate to get to witness this miraculous blossoming once again. I am delighted for you, and also as one of your fan club, who get to journey along with you. Thank you once again for this virtual pleasure, Sheila and Jim. May blessings fall like those blossoms, on your return travels. A warm and deep bow, Trudy
by Trudy