{"id":34341,"date":"2014-03-26T17:22:23","date_gmt":"2014-03-26T21:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/?p=34341"},"modified":"2014-03-26T17:22:23","modified_gmt":"2014-03-26T21:22:23","slug":"%e3%80%90rocketnews24%e3%80%91theres-something-about-sakura-its-hard-not-to-fall-in-love-with-japans-cherry-blossom%e3%80%90videos%e3%80%91","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/2014\/03\/26\/%e3%80%90rocketnews24%e3%80%91theres-something-about-sakura-its-hard-not-to-fall-in-love-with-japans-cherry-blossom%e3%80%90videos%e3%80%91\/","title":{"rendered":"\u3010RocketNews24\u3011There\u2019s something about sakura: It\u2019s hard not to fall in love with Japan\u2019s cherry blossom\u3010Videos\u3011"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted by\u00a0Michelle Lynn Dinh<\/a>\u00a0(Shimane<\/a>-ken,\u00a0Chibu-mura,\u00a0<\/strong>2010\u201313),<\/strong>\u00a0editor and writer for\u00a0RocketNews24<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>The following article was written by\u00a0Philip Kendall<\/a>\u00a0(Fukushima-ken,\u00a0Shirakawa-shi,\u00a02006\u201311), senior editor and writer for\u00a0RocketNews24<\/a>,\u00a0a Japan-based site dedicated to bringing fun and quirky news from Asia to English speaking audiences.<\/p>\n

\"There\u2019s<\/p>\n

Spring has arrived in Japan, and that can mean only one thing:\u00a0Hanami<\/strong>, or\u00a0cherry blossom viewing parties! But what is it about hanami, and those pretty pink petals in general for that matter, that manages to capture the hearts and minds of so many?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at\u00a0a handful of\u00a0videos that capture the mood of hanami season perfectly<\/strong>\u00a0and see if we can pinpoint exactly what it is that makes the season so special!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Written with the characters for \u2018flower\u2019 \u82b1 and \u2018look\/see\u2019 \u898b, hanami\u2019s roots can be traced all the way back to the Nara Period (710-794) when people would gather around Chinese plum trees in late February and early March to admire their beauty. As with most trends, however, it wasn\u2019t long before the pretty white flowers were superseded by those of another. Cherry blossom \u2013 which typically arrives a few weeks later than plum trees\u2019 own \u2013 became the flower of choice amongst the masses, and by the arrival of the Heian Period (795-1185), parties of people would gather to celebrate the flowers, which people came to associate with the time to plant the rice crops and make offerings to Shinto gods in the hope of receiving a bountiful harvest later that year.<\/p>\n

It was\u00a0Emperor Saga<\/a>, however, who made hamani parties popular,\u00a0inviting people to join him for alcohol-fuelled celebrations beneath the trees surrounding his palace in the then-capital, Kyoto.<\/p>\n

\u25bc\u201dYou, me, cheery blossom and booze. What d\u2019you say?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"There\u2019sImage:\u00a0Wikipedia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Fashions and times may change, but the Japanese fondness for kicking back outdoors with food, drink, and flowers\u00a0will always endure,\u00a0and with so few restrictions and taboos surrounding public consumption of alcohol, hanami is perhaps more popular today than ever before.<\/p>\n

As spring approaches, you can be sure that friends are already selecting their spots for hanami parties and creating Facebook groups to get the ball rolling.\u00a0Sakura zensen<\/em>(cherry blossom forecast) becomes a regular feature in morning news reports,\u00a0anddedicated sites<\/a>\u00a0crop up online to report the progress of the cherry blossom as it starts to bloom from south to north.<\/p>\n

\u25bc Today\u2019s sakura status? Pink to white from the bottom up, with the flowers expected to\u00a0be in full bloom in the capital any day\u00a0now.<\/p>\n

\"There\u2019s<\/p>\n

But what\u00a0is it about hanami that people love\u00a0so much? Could it be the continual festival atmosphere? The rare opportunity to sit\u00a0back and relax? The pleasure gained from simply being surrounded by nature, family, friends, or inebriated coworkers?\u00a0Perhaps these videos can help us put our finger on what makes this season so special.<\/p>\n

We begin with Tokyo\u2019s Ueno Park<\/strong><\/p>\n