Japan is known around the world for its cherry blossom festivals. Known as hanami in Japanese, cherry blossom festivals are an important custom and are held throughout Japan during the spring. That being said, don’t expect to see the flowers wherever you go, trees bloom at different times throughout Japan. If you are planning a trip to the country in the spring, here is what you need to know about the hanami tradition.
The meaning of Hanami
Hanami is the ancient tradition of enjoying the flowering of cherry blossoms ( sakura ) and sometimes plum trees ( ume ) in parks and across the countryside in Japan. The most popular type of Japanese cherry, the sakura, can be found throughout the country. These trees are also called somei-yoshino or yedoensis trees in botanical circles.
Hanami literally means “to see flowers”, but generally indicates seeing cherry blossoms. The origin of hanami is said to date back more than 1,000 years to when aristocrats enjoyed looking at beautiful cherry blossoms and wrote poems inspired by them.
How cherry blossoms are celebrated in Japan
Unlike aristocrats of yesteryear, people in Japan today scoff at a key component of cherry blossom viewing. They drink and eat, making the tradition of seeing the flowers more like a picnic under the trees. People bring home-cooked meals, grill meals, or buy takeout to celebrate the occasion. As thousands of people flock to parks, securing the nicest spots for picnics and parties in public spaces gets really competitive. Many people will go to stake out a place early in the morning or even a day in advance.
Since sake flows throughout the day by the time evening approaches, the festivities often turn more into good-natured revelries. This might be a good time to learn how to say “cheers” in Japanese and some drinking etiquette. Older Japanese sometimes choose to visit Japanese plum parks to see plum blossoms, as these areas are often less busy and noisy.
The symbolic meaning of cherry blossoms
Because cherry blossoms are beautiful and fleeting, the flowers often last no more than two weeks, they have become a symbol of the impermanence of beauty. Cherry blossoms often appear in artwork and even tattoos to represent the Japanese concept of the unconscious monkey , the sad realization that “nothing lasts forever.”
When the festivals take place
When do cherry blossoms bloom in Japan? Cherry blossoms typically begin to bloom in January in Okinawa, and cherry blossoms peak in late March to April in the Honshu region. In Hokkaido, cherry blossoms generally bloom in May. However, it is really difficult to predict cherry blossom dates in advance, so planning a trip in advance is difficult. In Japan, the JWA (Japan Weather Association), Weather Map Co., Ltd and Weathernews Inc. announce cherry blossom forecasts each spring.
Cherry blossoms generally appear in Tokyo and Kyoto sometime between March and April, depending on the weather earlier in the year. Golden Week, the busiest time to travel in Japan, often coincides with blooming cherry blossoms in some places. Golden week falls in late April and the first week of May with four consecutive Japanese holidays.
Cherry blossom festivals take place in different regions of the country. Most of them take place from March to May, although other regions host festivals during January, February, and June, depending on your location. Festival dates are generally determined with reference to cherry blossom forecasts and vary from year to year. The uncertainty makes it more difficult to schedule your trip around a specific festival. But if there is a celebration that you are particularly eager to attend, you can research the dates the festival was held in the past five to ten years.
Take the average of those dates and plan your trip accordingly.
The main attraction
The beautiful flowers are the main attraction at cherry blossom festivals, but there are a variety of traditional Japanese performances presented during these festivals. You may want to consider joining a tea ceremony held under the cherry trees; It can be a memorable experience.
It’s also fun to patronize festival vendors selling various foods and souvenirs, such as regional crafts and specialties from the region.
Cherry blossoms in other parts of the world
Arguably, no country celebrates cherry blossom with the excitement of Japan, but the country is not the only place on earth with a wide variety of these flowers. Hanami is also celebrated to a lesser extent in China, Korea, and Taiwan. Smaller celebrations can be enjoyed throughout the United States and Europe. One of the biggest festivals in the United States is in Washington, DC. The capital city is home to the National Cherry Blossom Festival. A park in Newark, NJ, has Washington, DC, hit with more cherry blossoms than the nation’s capital.
