Just in time for hanami
So, there I was. Legs still a little stiff from the flight and standing queue as Japanese customs took their time to inspect our passports. There I was. Sitting in a comfortable train, speeding through suburb after suburb. Past expressways, houses and high-rises. There I went. Trying to get my bearings at Shinjuku station, finding my way out. Walking the busy streets, pulling along Mr. Suitcase, my obese travel companion.
Trust me when I tell you I had no trouble sleeping that night.
Waking up refreshed, I was in for my first rice-and-fish-soup breakfast ever. And then: off to play the tourist (which, of course, I am). Being just in time to see the cherry blossom in full bloom, I joined in at the all-time favourite of hanami: admiring the flowers. In Japanese tradition, the cherry blossom signifies the transience of beauty. And transient it is, as the delicate flowers last for but a week. Many people here take days off to enjoy the flowers while they last. Days off being a scarce commodity here, it is important that the period of bloom is forecast accurately. Nature being what it is, this is not always possible. Like this year, leading to public apologies on national television by officials of the Meteorological Agency.Armed with a camera the size of your average bazooka, the Japanese who did manage to get some free time, try and capture the essence of that fleeting beauty, saving it for posterity. A beautiful contradiction.
