Hi @ReggaeJahmm and fellow hivers. It’s been a while. The last few weeks have been a bit crazy. There‘s been lots of newness at work and in my family. Huzzy and I have added responsibilities at work and our kids have moved to higher grades in school. Within a month, my older son graduated from elementary school and started going to a junior high school. We are now on four different schedules. We hope for a great year.
April marks the start of the school and financial year in Japan. It’s usually bit of a busy beginning but one thing many people try to do, is enjoy the cherry blossoms (sakura) season. While most Japanese still wear masks due to the corona virus, it was great to see many people having picnics or just walking about to enjoy spring in its beauty.
There’s something special about having picnics in the view of cherry blossoms. If a windy day, petals can be seen flying in the air and falling beautifully to the ground.
My family went to two picnics. One was with a group of fourteen families and the other was with a group of about ten people. We went on two consecutive days in the hope of enjoying much of the short-lived blossoms. We prepared some food for the first picnic but food was provided at the second. Some of the activities included sakura-paper art using paper plates, games, songs and dance. We had a lovely time. 🥰
Before leaving home, we prepared some carrot and cucumber curls, boiled eggs, baked chicken, tuna rice balls and balls of apple. We added some shiso-fried chicken that we had picked up at the supermarket.
We also enjoyed some mochi. Sakura mochi is maybe my favorite. It’s filled with red bean paste, wrapped in a leaf and has a sweet-salty taste.
A few days after attending the picnics, those blossoms were gone.
Recently however, I went to a park with the kids and spotted a different kind of sakura. They made my day as I had thought that the season was totally over.
What a beautiful time of year it is.
What are some of your best experiences around spring time?
Thank you for reading this post. Have a great weekend. 🎶🌸
