Hanami or Cherry Blossom Viewing

 

When I found out we would be moving to Japan, I was so excited for cherry blossom (sakura) season! We arrived in June so we missed it that year. This is our first year to see cherry blossoms. They have just begun to bloom and are already beautiful.

Hanami (literally translated as flower viewing but is synonymous with cherry blossom viewing) is an age old tradition in Japan. People go out and have picnics under the sakura trees.  Of course, the most beautiful spots are coveted and people travel to places like Hirosaki Castle and other sites.

Hanami can occur wherever cherry blossoms are…which is pretty much everywhere! I think this year hanami will take a particular importance since the aftermath of the earthquake tsunami. Cherry blossoms are extremely symbolic because of the transience of the blossoms. Their extreme beauty and quick death  have often been associated with mortality.

This year our “hanami” occurred close to home, at the Train Park in Misawa and the streets of Towada. We planned on going to Hirosaki earlier, but our tour was cancelled because the flowers are blooming late this year.

We won’t be in Japan for the rest of the cherry blossom season since we are attending a funeral overseas. It seems beautiful and poetic that we got a glimpse of beautiful sakura beforehand. After all, that is the lesson of the cherry blossom: you have to savor life while you can.

あけましておめでとうございます!

New Year’s prayers at Kushikihi Haachimangu Shrine, Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan. January 1, 2011

Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu! Happy New Year! This year I asked one of my friends if she was going to go to the shrine on New Year’s Day and asked if we could also come. We got our group together (four Americans and five Japanese) and headed to Kushikihi Haachimangu Shrine in Hachinohe. I have already written about this shrine in one of my earlier posts, but this was such a different experience! We thought we could beat the traffic if we got there early, but we ended up making a short pilgramage to the shrine from where we parked the car. This picture was taken on the shrine grounds. There were many stands selling a variety of food and some toys. Very much like any other festival. I wasn’t expecting that, it was a welcomed surprise though.
Getting closer to saying our prayers! How to pray at a Shinto shrine: throw money into the “bin” or whatever they call it. Ring the bell. Bow. Clap twice. Pray (which I did very quickly). Bow again.
After everyone said their prayers, we went and got our “fortunes” mine was good (third from the best). You can keep your fortune or tie it to the post like this:
Next, everyone rushed over to buy good luck charms. Each one is very specific so I didn’t want to get one that didn’t apply to me. I asked my friends for help deciphering but I was shoved so many times I decided to give up on the charm. I know, Japanese people shoving? They do it! They are very serious about their charms! A lot of them are for students to get good grades and pass exams.

 

I had always wanted to go to a Shrine in Japan on New Year’s Day. This was a great experience and I was so happy to spend a traditional New Year’s with my friends!