The Seasons in Japan

Spring Falling Cherry Blossoms: sakura

The fleeting beauty of the cherry blossoms is symbolic to the Japanese. They liken the petals to the life of the samurai - a brief explosion of colour, bright for the duration of their short life, before they wither and die.

Cherry blossom viewing in Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka - find the best places in Japan's major cities to experience hanami both along river banks and in public parks.

by Sian Thatcher

Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo

Japan's unofficial national flower - the cherry blossom - holds a position of central significance in Japanese art, architecture, fashion and traditional culture.

With dozens of varieties of cherry tree in different regions of the country, the blossoms come out each spring for a few days, and viewing festivals, or 'Hanami' are held.

Here are some of the top spots for blossom viewings if you're in Tokyo at the right time of year.

Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC

The cherry blossom festival is a two-week, annual event that celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the long lasting friendship between the people of the United States and Japan.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) organization that coordinates, produces, and supports creative and diverse activities promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty and the environment, and community spirit and youth education.

Summer Outdoor Dining on the Decks of the Kamogawa River, Kyoto: kawadoko

The warmer months in Kyoto are welcomed with the chance to eat outside by the Kamogawa River on raised decks.

The Kamogawa River, which flows through central Kyoto, is where Kyotoites go to play and enjoy, romance and dine.
After a day of culture or work, Kyoto's kawadoko decks offer a place to enjoy a beer or cold sake and wonderful food--all as you enjoy the breeze and the view of the Higashiyama mountains and Mount Hiei in the distance.

by C. Ogawa

Autumn Maple Leaves in Arashiyama, Kyoto: momiji

Intensifying to their most vivid red just before they expire, the maple leaves of autumn are a spectacular final flourish to nature's annual performance.

Ranging from crimson reds that upstage even the torii gates of Shinto shrines, to eye-catching yellows, it seemed as if every tree has its own distinctive hue.
See the autumn leaves in Tokyo & Kyoto.

by Will Yong

Autumn Higanbana, the Flower of the Dead

Graveyards will be densily covered in bizarrely shaped crimson flowers brightly glistening in the autumn sun. Like violently shed blood rising straight out of the ground. That's the higanbana.

See the autumn higanbana throughout Japan, where the best way to enjoy their dark beauty on a sunny, autumn day is a stroll through the rice paddies.

by Johannes Schonherr

New Year - New Year Poems In The Year of the Rabbit

Dedicated to her daughter born in the Year of the Rabbit and turning twelve as a "Toshi-Onna", the author composes poems with a special New Year theme; these poems are made in fun and in celebration of the New Year's Traditions that we love in Japan, from watching the first sunrise, to eating mochi, to playing ha-go-I-ta, to visiting a shrine and watching the Ko-haku music spectacular on TV.

Happy New Year!

by Joanne G. Yoshida

Winter Sapporo Snow Festival

Deep in the Hokkaido winter, one event has visitors flocking to the city of Sapporo, braving the subzero temperatures for a week of icy fun and excitement.

The Sapporo Snow Festival now attracts more than 2 million people every year to Hokkaido making it one of the biggest events of Japan's festival calendar. From humble beginnings, it has certainly come a long way.

by Will Yong