Be The Jam

I’ve traded my woolly coat for a lighter jacket during the daytime, birds are singing.. and the marketing and ad industries are cashing in on the soon-to-be-blossoming blossoms to sell beer, camcorders, sake, holidays .. anything in fact.

The cherry trees start blooming in Okinawa in January, in mainland Honshu in March/ April and finally in Hokkaido in May. Cherry blossom (sakura) is Japan's unofficial national flower, and cherry-blossom viewing parties or hanami are very popular during the week or so the trees are in bloom.

April is also the start of the new school year in Japan, so blossoms are more than ever associated with renewal and fresh starts, which does perhaps makes more sense than leaves falling as we go back to school in the UK.