Cherry Blossoms

The Cherry Blossoms are out in full bloom! It is the most beautiful Springtime! Now, in Japan, cherry trees are everywhere - they are in the mountains, front yards and backyards, lining the streets of the towns, lining the rivers and the parks and even junkyards! In our last town, Kamakura, there was an elevated walking path about a 1/2 mile long that ran in the middle of the main street, leading to the large shrine. This path is lined with thousands of cherry trees! There are also thousands of chochin lanterns hanging as well. During the day, the cherry trees are stunning, white and pink and beautiful - they look like fluffy snow! At night, the lanterns are lit up and the cherry trees look ethereal! The other day we were at a shrine and the blossoms of the huge cherry tree were blowing off with the wind, like snow falling! - Gabrielle