Japanese monitor the arrival of spring with the flowering “sakura”
The coming of spring is being closely monitored by scores of volunteers in Japan, anxiously awaiting the first signs of the cherry blossom season.
Blooming cherry blossoms, called “sakura” in Japanese, not only signify the start of spring and symbolize new beginnings, but it is also an important indicator for Japan’s tourism industry as it helps cities plan annual cherry blossom festivals, travel agencies to schedule tours, and ordinary people to set dates for parties and gatherings under the cherry trees.
In prior years beginning since 1955, the Japanese Meteorological Agency, with help from the public, track the sakura zensen (cherry-blossom front) as it moves northward up the archipelago with the approach of warmer weather via nightly forecasts following the weather segment of news programs. The sakura blossoming typically begins in Okinawa in January and reaches Kyoto and Tokyo at the end of March or the beginning of April. The blossoming proceeds into areas at the higher altitudes and northward, arriving in Hokkaidō a few weeks later. Every year the Japanese public follow these forecasts and turn out in large numbers at parks, shrines, and temples with family and friends to hold flower-viewing parties. People participate in these hanami festivals to celebrate the beautiful cherry blossoms as well as taking the time to relax and to enjoy the beautiful views. The custom of hanami dates back many centuries in Japan, with the earliest recording of hanami festivals being held in the third century CE.
This year, however, Japan’s national obsession with the timing of the flowering pale pink blooms will depend on private weather companies and their volunteer recruits, since the Japan Meteorological Agency decided to end its official tracking forecasts. At least 15,000 people have been submitting pictures via mobile phones on how the cherry buds are doing.
The photos are then analyzed by the weather specialists and predictions about the start of the cherry blossom season are broadcast on a special daily television programme. The forecast is that the parks in Tokyo will burst with cherry blossoms as early as March 30th this year.
Japanese monitor the first signs of spring - Al Jazeera English News video with Divya Gopalan reporting (March 20, 2010).
Similar Posts:
- American Air Said to Consider Buying Japan Air Stake
- Once Slave to Luxury, Japan Catches Thrift Bug
- Asia to Lead Global Economic Growth in 2010
- Japanese couple married by a robot named I-Fairy – with video
- Outsourcing, Japanese style
