pinch me

Blossom forecasts are saying that I'll get my first peek at cherry heaven in a couple of weeks. That's if the national meteorological agency's predictions, spouted on the nightly news, are correct about the sakura zensen, or cherry blossom front.

For the first time in the seven months that we've been here, I've started to see an (almost-Canadian) focus on the weather, to which the Japanese normally seem quite oblivious. The warm winter—the first snowless one since they began keeping track of such stuff in 1876—followed by a recent cool snap has apparently screwed things up somewhat since sakura-related hoopla is a huge deal here. In fact, hanami (flower viewing) parties have been going on for many centuries because the cherry tree has historically been imbued with much mystical and symbolic importance.

But no matter when the petals start to pop, I've got a prime spot not too far from our place in mind (local cemetery) so anyone who likes my flower photos, worry not, I'll be hunting those big blooms just like all the other millions of sakura hunters.