ummm, so yah, a new blog I guess, even tho I'm a bit late. X_X Anyway, for this one, I'll talk a little about Sakura and drown you all with pics.

Sakura (or Cherry Blossoms) are pretty darn big in Japan. The cherry blossom is the national flower of Japan, and for the Japanese it's a huge part of their national identity. So, every year in late March/early April, the Japanese do a little ohanami (flower watching). Ohanami can be done in a ton of different ways - you can set up a tarp to sit on and eat food under the trees, you can walk down a path laden with sakura, or you can just look out your window and stare at the sakura. It doesn't matter how they do it, but to the Japanese, they have to look at them at least once

Cherry Blossoms fall at the rate of 2in. per second (or 5cm per second). The weathermen predict when they start blooming and the best viewing dates. For example, this year they started blooming in Tokyo on March 20 and where best viewed from March 29-April 7. Most of the places on the main island of Japan have similar dates, but up north in Sapporo, for example, they don't come out until May 6.

[Shrine in Kyoto]

[Sakura at Night with Lanterns]

[One of the 100 Most Scenic Spots in Tokyo]

[Ohanami in Hiroshima]