In a break from my usual terse posts I thought I’d tackle a big subject here in Japan: cherry blossom season.

The Japanese are very serious about their cherry blossom. Blossom forecasts appear regularly on TV throughout the day (along with helpful tips about not taking your cardboard boxes outside when it rains). TV shows talk about the best places to see the blossoms.

Here’s an indication of how much attention a single cherry tree gets (and this is by no means a busy tree):

And then there is hanami, or cherry blossom viewing. This is where you mark out your territory in a park, under a cherry tree, with a blue plastic sheet. Later on you return with your friends and a lot of food and drink, and have yourself a good old time amongst the blossoms.

Thousands of people do this and the parks are bustling with people and food stalls, and overflowing rubbish bins. It’s a sight to match the blossoms themselves.

They even ship children in by the cart load!

So anyway, I thought I’d get all my cherry blossom photos out of the way in one go. Knock yourself out:

(photos from Yoyogi Park & Shinjuku Park)