Hanami...the Epitome of Japanese Spring

You may or may not have heard of the popular Japanese Spring activity of Hanami. Hanami is essentially the viewing of flower blossoms, with hana being the Japanese word for flower and mi coming from the Japanese word miru which means to see/watch, hence the name Hanami! Unlike in other countries where viewing flowers may be considered as boring or pointless, Hanami or viewing flower blossoms is a very popular activity to partake in in Japan, and parks/ riversides/flower populated places tend to get super busy during the blossom season,so here’s a brief insight into Hanami with some pretty pictures featured alongside (the real reason for this post lol)!

What exactly is Hanami?

So above I mentioned that Hanami is the activity of viewing blossoms (most notably Sakura/cherry blossoms) but that doesn’t just mean you go and stare at flowers for hours on end, surprisingly there’s more to it than that lol! Typically Hanami is a picnic with friends or family situated underneath or in the area of the blossoms. The picnic is not only filled with food but it’s also pretty common to enjoy an alcoholic beverage or two (or three/four/five...) whilst viewing the blossoms! And of course there’s also the standard of taking pretty pictures of the flowers, because as the saying goes if you didn’t take a picture did you even go?? Hanami is also not only for cherry blossoms, you can also look at the pretty plum blossoms around March time, known as Ume Hanami! 

Why is it so popular?

 Hanami is a long standing pastime in Japan and is essentially the celebration of spring,it is pretty much now a tradition in Japan and so is very popular for both Japanese people and foreigners who are embracing the cherry blossom culture! As it is a tradition to view the blossoms this means that there are many many many picturesque spots that the blossom trees have been planted making for some spectacular views and photo opportunities! Cherry blossoms have also become the epitome of Japanese spring thanks to being shown in popular culture worldwide, thus many travellers visit Japan specifically during the blossom season in order
to catch the pretty Sakura! It’s also an activity that allows you to just chill and relax with friends outside in some not too hot, not too cold and not humid weather! Plus who doesn’t like to drink, eat and look at pretty pretty flowers?!