Countdown to cherry blossoms

TOKYO — Tracking where and when cherry blossoms, or sakura, will bloom is a serious business here. They are monitored like crops that need to be harvested, while the Japan Weather Association (JWA) provides updates on dates of bloom. The countdown is taken to heart so much so that it mimics the coming of a new year. The best viewing dates are marked on everybody’s calendars.

In a way, sakura does herald a new year. Cherry blossoms typically bloom from mid-March to early April. Early ones appeared in Fukuoka last March 14 while blooms are expected to open in Tokyo on the March 24.

Though Japan celebrates New Year in January, the year really starts on April 1st, when school begins and new employees clock in their first day of work. Since sakura coincides with both the official start of the year and the onset of spring, they are viewed as a symbol of rebirth and a new beginning.

The fervor that comes with sakura season may seem exaggerated to others, but once you experience how lovely it is, you get an understanding of why it is so important to the Japanese.

For one, cherry blossoms are really a sight to behold. It transforms an ordinary tree-lined street into an endearing pathway. It gives life to parks and gardens that used to look dreary from the winter that just passed.

Certain tourist spots get an additional boost by the beauty that cherry blossoms bring. Among these are the traditional places of Kyoto, Nikko and Mt. Fuji, but it also invites tourism to less familiar places such as Joetsu city in Niigata, which celebrates a festival where over 4,000 cherry blossom trees are illuminated.

If you are visiting this year, I suggest going to Nara so you can hit two birds with one stone. This ancient capital is a great setting for sakura and is also celebrating their 1,300 anniversary this April.

The fact that it only lasts for days is another draw. It pushes people to get together for the annual practice of hanami, which simply means, “cherry blossom viewing.” It may sound serene but the scene can get chaotic with people staking out their spots at parks as early as 7 a.m. and drinking sessions lasting till late night. This annual ritual gives people a chance to catch up with friends, co-workers and family over snacks and cans Kirin beer while admiring the momentary splendor the sakura bestows.

Since the Japanese are suckers for anything in season, the coming of the cherry blossoms is accompanied by a slew of new products prominently advertised as gentei (meaning limited). Starbucks offers a sakura frappuccino and chiffon cake, Kit Kat candy runs its limited-edition cherry blossom chocolate bar, and beauty brands like L’Occitane amp up their cherry blossom line. 

The sakura season is certainly a celebration of discovery — a time when people explore Japan’s parks and unlikely destinations, where bonds of friendship are restored, and when people begin new chapters of their lives, egged on by the welcome cherry blossoms bring.