Vol.4 How to enjoy Spring in Japan

Hi it's Ayumi. How are you doing in such a difficult situation of Corona virus? I guess everyone is doing each parts to make it better. Hold on a little bit longer and I believe everything will be fine soon.

We are under a lot of pressure to the situation but we don't have to forget to be aware that the new season Spring is coming!

I'd like to introduce in today's column that what Spring is for Japanese and how we enjoy this season! After you read this you will know how deep Spring is rooted to Japanese life style.

For Japanese, April is a start. New school and new company. People graduate, move and join a new place. A lot of new life stages start in April. 

I still remember, in this season, that I felt a little nervous to get through a gate at elementary school and wondered if I could make new friends. I was trying to hide a bittersweet feeling when I left my mom's house and started living on my own as a fresher after graduation.

In Japan, spring is the season when people experience transitions in their lives.

And there are always tons of full-bloomed cherry blossoms (Sakura)! The cherry blossom is considered like the national flower of Japan and you can see it on ¥100 coin. It's symbolic of "rich" and "fall" as Sakura has such a short time of bloom. People get a spirit of appreciation for its natural gift and Sakura has become one of the Japanese cultures.

Ohanami (a Japanese style picnic with cherry blossom) is one of the spring features. It has been continued since 800s year. We eat, drink and sing under cherry blossoms every years. It’s legally ok to drink alcohol outside especially when it comes to ohanami. At many companies, it's the first job for freshers to find the best place for ohanami. (Maybe not this year due to the Corona though..)

Warm breeze, gentle pink color and falling petals relief our nervous emotions. All of our beginning of new life stages are memorized with cherry blossoms. Japanese has their own stories of this special season in the life.

Walk, stop and feel the warm and kind gift from Earth. Appreciate and walk again with much energy and smiles! You will see a different story if you are aware that Spring is special for most Japanese. Enjoy this joyful season.

Click here for・Cherry blossoms blooming status;
    Osaka(3/23), Kyoto(3/22), Kobe (3/25), Himeji(3/24)

This is Ashiya river on 3/21.

こんにちは、Ayumiです。本日は日本人にとっての春とは何か、日本人がどのようにこの季節を楽しむのかを紹介したいと思います。これを読めば、春という季節がいかに深く日本人の心に根付いているかを知ることができます。

日本人にとって4月は始まりです。新しい学校、新しい会社。人々は卒業、引越し、入学・入社など人生の新しいスタート切ります。

私自身も、この時期になると、新しい友達ができるかドキドキしながら小学校の正門をくぐった思い出や、卒業後初めて一人暮らしを始めたころの少し寂しくて切ない気持ちなどを思い出します。

春は、人々が人生の転換期を迎える季節です。

そして、そこにはいつも満開の桜があります。桜は、日本の国花のようなものとして扱われ、100円玉にもデザインが起用されています。桜はその開花時期が短いことから、豊かさとはかなさの象徴としてあります。人々はその自然からのギフトに感謝する精神を学びます。桜は日本文化の一つとなりました。

お花見も春の風物詩の一つです。800年代から始まり、飲み食い歌って大騒ぎ。入社してすぐの新人の仕事が花見の場所取り、なんてこともあります。

暖かいそよ風、優しいピンク色、落ちゆく花びらは、私たちの心の不安感を和らげてくれます。私たちの新しい生活のスタートはいつも桜ともに記憶に残ります。日本人はみなそれぞれのストーリーをこの特別な季節に抱いています。

歩いて、立ち止まり、地球からの暖かくて優しいギフトを感じましょう！感謝してたくさんのエナジーと笑顔でまた歩き出す。そんな季節を楽しみましょう＾＾