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Environment
Weather doesn’t always cooperate for cherry blossom parties
Saturday, April 5, 2025
PanOrient News
TOKYO: Cherry blossom season is one of the few times Japanese party in public, with weekends being the most popular time, but the weather doesn’t always cooperate.
On the way to Chiba’s Showa no Mori park, one American was hoping to go to a “Hanami” (cherry blossom viewing party) for the first time, having arrive in Japan six months ago.
But as the clouds spread over Chiba, he remained determined to visit the park and experience this unique aspect of Japanese culture.
“We’ll take our chances,” he told Arab News Japan. Ten minutes later, the clouds opened and it poured with rain, accompanied by a strong wind that had cherry blossoms creating an almost snowlike effect as the petals fell to the ground.
Later the sun came out and the people of Chiba, which lies to the east of Tokyo, were able to enjoy the blossoms, with many parked on blue tarpaulins, enjoying food and drink and even being boisterous in an unJapanese way.
In Tokyo, the weather was a little kinder with some clear skies that encouraged people to take photos and selfies in some of the more famous cherry blossom viewing spots such as Ueno Park, Shinjuku Gyoen garden and the Kanda River.
But it won’t last long. Cherry blossoms don’t last long and are said to represent beauty and renewal and the ephemeral nature of life.
They are also a symbol of US-Japan relations, but with President Donald Trump imposing a tariff of 24 percent on Japanese goods this week, that’s probably a topic most of the Hanami partygoers will avoid.
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