Visit Japan in cherry blossom season

“During our brief blossom season, I was a wreck and eased myself into the festivities, at first forgoing the group picnics, preferring to stroll through the parks on my teaching breaks. I would walk along the paths, under branch after branch, each thick with soft white, pink, and magenta blooms. The wind would blow and a handful of the paper-thin flowers would flutter past my face as they fell to the ground. The fluffy, gorgeous blossoms were everywhere -- on the trees, in the air, and on the ground. It felt surreal, like I was in a candy forest with the occasional Japanese shrine or statue peaking through the pink and white clouds of flowers.”

“Though I thoroughly enjoyed Hama Rikyu Gardens, my personal favorite hanami experience happened at night, near the end of the season. I was meeting up with a friend who went to a nearby school. We ate dinner together at a bar and then casually strolled through Ueno Park after evening fell. The cherry blossoms were difficult to see and impossible to take pictures of in the dark, but I could still see their flowering branches stretching overhead, covering our path in a flowery canopy. Strings of lanterns illuminated small patches of white blossoms and the numerous picnics taking place underneath. Business men and groups of friends laughed and cracked open bottles of alcohol. Polite signs asked picnic-goers to throw away their trash, and the atmosphere was fun and lighthearted. My friend and I walked past the rows of picnics and food stands, passing by a large lake. Through the cherry blossom branches we could make out the bright city lights from across the water.”