Hanami (Flower Watching)

Hanami is a famous festival and holiday in Japan. The word "Hana" means flower and "mi" is part of the verb "miru" which means to look or to watch. The Hanami takes place in the first week of April, when the Sakura Trees are in full bloom.

To celebrate Hanami, I lead the group to Sankeien park, Yokohama's most famous park. After an hour bus ride without sitting, we finally make it to the park. Saying that it was beautiful is a gross understatement. Here are some pictures







The next day, our Japanese buddies invited the group to celebrate Hanami with a group of MGU students. I expected the environment and attitude to be very naturesque, focusing on adoring the flowers. Boy... was i wrong. The entire point of the festival is to get drunk with friends. There weren't even any cherry blossom trees nearby! So, 20 Americans and 60 Japanese students drank way too much beer in the park on a beautiful day.

Here are some pictures from the event:






They also had some interesting snacks at the picnic. One that particularly caught my interest was vinegar-pickled squid:



I tried it, but it was truly disgusting. I still pretended to like it so that I did not offend my new Japanese friends.