Spring has sprung... a leak.

The photo above was taken on a chilly, overcast day in Motomiya. I remember it clearly, because it was payday. After we were finished our business at the Board of Education, B. and I took a quick drive over to a nearby pond at "Flowerland." There was a swan gliding through the water. The cherry blossoms were starting to bloom, enhancing the park with a wash of light pink. It seemed like spring had finally sprung!

But the following morning, I pulled open my curtains and was surprised to see huge snowflakes coming from the sky. I had to dig out my ol' windshield scraper to brush off the thick layer of snow on my car. Everyone shivered at school, because we had already disassembled our usual source of heat: the old kerosene stoves. The other teachers were telling me they hadn't seen such snowy weather in late April since forty years ago. Thank you, Mother Nature. It also didn't help that a few days ago, we had another fresh coat of snow dumped all over the city. In addition to that, we felt a minor earthquake at 6:30 in the morning, which woke me up from my slumber. Eee... bad news bears!

Cherry blossom viewing ("hanami") viewing parties are a focal part of springtime in Japan. It's an excuse for people to gather underneath the trees to take in nature's beauty... and enjoy each other's company while indulging on alcohol and good food. A few weeks ago, I went to Fukushima-shi for the second annual "Sakura" (cherry blossoms) BBQ. Sadly, we were the only ones at the park. It was a blustery day, and the trees were bare. Fortunately, we ate lots of delicious Brazilian BBQ. Last week, another hanami party was held at the picturesque Tsurugajo, a castle in the city of Aizuwakamatsu. But I ended up skipping it, because I couldn't bring myself to driving 1.5 hours to sit outside on a slightly chilly day.

As a result, my cherry blossom tradition has been hampered quite a bit this year! Fortunately, I viewed some of the blossoms before the rain and snow started pelting the poor delicate things. This year, I took a leisurely hike at Hanamiyama Park in Fukushima-shi; Mizuiro Park, which also has sweet water installments, in Motomiya; and Jana no Hana Land (Flowerland) near my house.

I've been doing some light Googling, and I've just realized I have been telling lies to some of my teachers. They've asked if we have cherry blossoms in Canada... and I said there might be a handful of trees in Vancouver. But it turns out that there is even a cherry blossom festival held there every year! My bad.

If tomorrow's another overcast day, I won't be too bothered. I took the day, giving me a wonderful 7-day hiatus from work. (We have a bunch of consecutive national holidays - thank you, Golden Week!)