sakura mankai

sakura mankai (桜満開) means sakura a.k.a. cheey blossom, in full bloom. i always love spring in japan. the scenery is very beautiful. the best thing about spring here is the cool weather and sakura blooming. just by looking at these magnificent creation from GOD makes you feel relaxed and happy. it really has a magical soothing effect that i can't explain. although i like it a lot, it is very unfortunate that sakura only blooms for about a week, and only just once a year; and that's why i'm super excited to see them every time spring comes.

in japan, there is a 'culture' called hanami (花見). hanami is one of the most popular events of Spring. Crowds of people - families, groups of friends, and groups from companies sit under the fully open sakura tree, usually on plastic tarps, and have a picnic celebration. The picnic fare consists of a wide variety of foods, snack foods, and sake (rice wine) or other drinks. The activities often include dancing and karaoke in addition to the sakura viewing. click here for detailed information about hanami.

so, last friday, the コミュニケーション同好会 (communication club) held a small hanami event at a park near our school. unfortunately for us, that day the sky is quite dark and it's quite cold outside but we decided to do it anyway because we don't have time to do it on a different day. we walked for about 15 mins, bringing a lot snacks and drinks along with us. because most of us are students and are under the legal age of drinking, not to forget i don't do alchohol because i'm a muslim, we drink green tea instead of sake. we took pictures, and had a nice picnic but it was soo cold that everyone agreed to go home early.

i noticed today, the sakuras in front of the dormitory started to fall off. i guess they'll be leaving us soon, but not to worry, insyaallah next year i'll be seeing them again. i hope. IF i pass the university entrance exams!!! man, i should focus on my juken benkyou (受験勉強 - examination studies).