In Japan, spring is a very meaningful season. It marks the end of the year for both schools and companies, it is the time of “new encounters and new beginnings,” as the Japanese like to say. With the quickly rising temperatures, both old and young, locals and tourists, flock to see one of spring’s most marvelous miracles: the evanescent cherry blossom, or sakura in Japanese. The act of viewing and appreciating the tiny pink petals is called hanami, literally meaning flower viewing. Between Mar
