Sakura! Cherry blossoms!
Now, the whole population in Japan waits for the Sakura no Hana to bloom!
The weather forecasts on TV announce cherry blossom forecasts along with daily weather forecasts. This helps people plan a special trip to enjoy the flowers at distant locations and arrange picnics under the Sakura no Hana at their favorite neighborhood parks and gardens. Japan experienced a cold winter this year, but the forecasts show a regular blooming schedule. Kyushu, Osaka, Tokyo – March 25, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kanazawa – March 30, Nagano, Fukuoka, Sendai, Tsuruoka – April 10 and Hokkaido and Tohoku – April 30.
Japan celebrates the end and beginning of the school year during this festive time. The school year typically ends on March 25, and the new school year begins on April 5. Companies also employ freshmen at this time of the year. In Japan, you may witness young school children in their new school uniform taking trains with their formally-dressed mothers (in most cases) heading to the school where they begin their studies.
No one in Japan can pass this season without having Sakura-mochi, a sweet azuki bean paste stuffed pounded sticky rice cake wrapped in salt-pickled cherry blossom leaves. Salt-pickled cherry flowers and young leaves made the year before are sold at the food stores.
Restaurant chefs and home cooks use these seasonal blessings to prepare special, seasonal dishes such as Sakura no Hana Takikomigohan (rice cooked and infused with cherry flowers), Sakuramochi (sticky rice cake wrapped up in cherry leaves), and cherry leaves-wrapped grilled fish.
At high-end restaurants, chefs pick and use wild cherry blossoms as a garnish for the prepared dishes to bring the very nature outside into the dining table. When the students return to my class, we will use salt-pickled cherry flowers and leaves to make bento boxes for sale at the school. My neighbour’s Sakura tree will bloom by then, so I can bring some to the classroom. Exciting!
