花見 ~ Hanami!

'tis the season... cherry blossom season, that is.
As I mentioned last year, the blossoming of cherry blossom trees throughout Japan is one of the most exciting, symbolic, and anticipated events of the year. It also coincides well with spring vacation, so people travel all over Japan to view the sakura... then sit underneath them picnicking, taking an inordinate amount of pictures and enjoying Japan's lack of legislation against public alcohol consumption.
☆mini Japanese lesson:
Hanami （花見）takes the 2 Chinese characters for 花＝"flower" and 見＝"view," sticks them together and creates... can you guess? "flower viewing" ...did I just blow your mind?
This year I attended 2 hanami events, one in Tokyo's Sumida Park (along the Sumida River in Asakusa) and once in Gunma, taking advantage of the week-or-so delay in peak sakura viewing. Both days came and went with the threat of rain, but we stayed dry and had a great time.

Last month's graduation was a day of mixed emotions. It was incredibly hard to say goodbye to that particular group of students, but I'm also excited for them... entering high school is a major life change for them at this point and I'm looking forward to the days when they wander into the staffroom to say hello.
Today is the first day of school and the sakura are still in full bloom... which makes everyone happier than you can probably imagine... even me.
...that's all the news for now. Hope you're enjoying the spring!