I learned this week that there is a special word for the flurry of petals raining down in the breeze – 花吹雪 (hanafubuki) – which is a beautiful sight of tiny pink flakes floating down from above. My Japanese friends especially love hanafubuki, but part of me felt that this is like celebrating the demise of the very thing that they have come to see. Maybe this is a more realistic acceptance that sakura season has to end, whilst I’m the unrealistic one who can’t accept that the party’s nearly over. Either way, I’m feeling a bit glum that the sakura petals have all fluttered off the trees, and the clouds of pink on the branches that the nation has been revelling in for the last week or so have all given way for the new green leaves.
This post contains some photos reflecting on a week in which Tokyo went crazy for cherry bossoms – and is now waiting until for it to happen briefly again next year.
Meguro River at Nakameguro (yozakura – night time hanami):
