Sarah ♥ Japan: Cherry Blossoms

So the cherry blossoms, or "sakura," were blooming over the last couple weeks. It is really pretty with all the pink and white flowers...but Japan goes absolutely nuts over them. Along with the normal weather report on TV they have a sakura report that tells the prospective dates of blooming around the country. People flock to parks where there are cherry trees blooming for "hanami" or "flower viewing parties." Of course, like most celebrations in Japan, it is just another excuse to get drunk!

I went for hanami with a friend for the first time ever last Friday in Yoyogi Park. Some highlights were:

-- Watching all the people that were already super drunk when we first got there...and saying "haro" to the drunk, off-duty hosts every time they went past us to and from the bathroom (which was about once every 5 mins...)

-- Convincing a guy who was selling wine by the bottle for 1,500yen, to give us one for free and drink it with us.

-- Meeting some hosts (not the drunk bathroom hosts) and getting some free host action, before they had to go to work.

-- Joining a party of "artists" wearing shirts that said "Go For Future" and singing karaoke on their portable machine, greatly impressing them with our ability to sing Japanese songs (they all took out their cellphones to take pictures).

All in all, I'd say my first hanami was a massive success. But, I'm also glad it only comes once a year...don't know if I could handle more than that.

The falling petals look like snow!