Hanami is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers. Usually “flower” is refer to cherry blossoms which also known as sakura. There is said to be about 300 different varieties of sakura, but the three most common ones are someiyoshino, usually planted in parks and along riverbanks, yamazakura grows wild in mountainous areas south from central Honshu, and shidarezakura often seen in temples. Hanami is one of the most popular events of spring. It occurs from mid January to early May. At that time, cherry blossoms bloom all over Japan. There are many kinds of cherry tree varieties in Japan, most of them bloom for just a couple of days in spring. The Japanese celebrate that time of the year with Hanami parties under the blooming trees. Hanami consists of having an outdoor party under the cheery blossoms tree. At that time, crowds of people like families, groups of friends, and groups from companies sit under the fully open cherry blossoms, usually on plastic tarps, and have a picnic celebration. The picnic fare consists of a wide variety of foods, snack foods, and sake (rice wine) or other drinks. The activities often include dancing and karaoke in addition to the cherry blossom viewing. In very popular places such as Ueno Park and Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo the competition for prime picnic spots is intense. Company groups and family members claim spots by arriving very early in the morning and sitting all day long until the real celebrations begin in the evening. It is not unusual to see a young man in a business suit sitting under a cherry tree early in the morning reserving a space for his company. The new employees are traditionally given this job of sitting all day long to reserve space for the company celebration. At that time, they will having fun all the day. Surprisingly, as Hanami season approaches, the progresses of the Hanami are covered on TV and in the newspapers.
