On Hanami...

With the passing of April came and went the cherry blosom so adored by the Japanese. Singles, couples, families and photographers made time, as they do every year, to stroll through a park or meander along a river-side canopied by the soft pink glow of the heady sakura. It's great stuff. One day in early April the gnarled, dark-brown barked trees that line so many streets and roads are completely baren, then suddenly they're lousy with fresh little green tips. The next moment they're swooning with a blosom that, from a distance, isn't dissimiliar to candy floss atop a bent stick. An edible specialty of the season is sakura mochi; a sticky pink pounded rice envelope or ball, like digestible chewing gum, filled with sweet red beans and wrapped in the green leaf of the sakura tree. This short-lived season, best described as nature showing off, is truely something to behold and a day amongst it is well spent with beer, food and people you love. It's name is Hanami. It means 'flower gazing' and I'm looking forward to its return next year.