Mar 6

WIT Life #390: Heading into sakura season 🌸

Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life Add Comment (1)

Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR 2000-03) presents WIT Life, a periodic series about aspects of Japanese culture such as art, film, food and language. She also shares her interpreting adventures and the interesting things she has encountered in the course of her work.

The frigid, snow-filled winter here in NY looks to be reaching an end, with warmer temps forecast for next week and 春分の日 (shunbun no hi or spring equinox) around the bend. Since I’ve last written a lot has been going in the world to say the least, but I figured I’d stick to the more light-hearted topic of 桜 (sakura or cherry blossoms).

I had a business trip in Japan last month, so was very happy to have the chance to visit for the first time in three years. I knew it was too early to see the sakura in bloom, but I did see some beautiful pink and white 梅の花 (ume no hana or plum blossoms, which is also the name of my favorite tofu restaurant in Japan). I was hoping that despite the lack of cherry blossoms that sakura-flavored sweets might be available, and boy were they! MUJI alone boasts a lineup of 14 sakura-themed treats this year, ranging from scones and cheesecake to manju and mochi to tea and lattes. I have to admit there was a special sakura section in my suitcase reserved for these goodies.

I’m lucky enough to be going back to Japan in May for a follow-up business trip, this time to Chiba, Ibaraki and Tokyo (last month I was in Osaka and Wakayama). Though I know sakura snacks will no longer be around, I look forward to whatever seasonal offerings are at that time. In the meantime I can’t wait to enjoy the sakura via お花見 (ohanami or cherry blossom viewing) at my local Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The Okame trees here are said to be some of the first in the city to bloom, typically in mid-late March. Oftentimes this means doing ohanami in layers as the weather can still be chilly, but I’ll be there with my sakura sweets in tow. Happy ohanami 🌸