HanamiHanami
Hanami is when people eat and drink while watching cherry blossoms. Popular viewing places are Ueno and Yoshinoyama Park. Cherry blossoms start blooming at the southern end of the Japanese archipelago first, then moving up about a speed of 40 kilometers a day. Japan is about 1000 kilometers long north and south. It is about the size of the State of California. It takes about a month to open all the cherry blossoms in Japan.
There are many kinds of
Cherry blossoms in Japan. The one kind the Japanese people go out
and view is called Somei Yoshino.
In America it is against the law to drink alcohol in public places, unless you are in a bar. In Japan it is not against the law to drink in public places. In fact they sell beer and sake in vending machines. So it is possible for people to have fun under the cherry trees in spring.
May, 2000
Leslie G.
