Feeling the heat? Then get out of the kitchen and check out these two great blog posts by my Nara Lady English bloggers:
Need still more cooling? Check out these Nara Lady English Bloggers:
Aug 7
Posted by sheffner in culture and communication | Comments off
Feeling the heat? Then get out of the kitchen and check out these two great blog posts by my Nara Lady English bloggers:
Need still more cooling? Check out these Nara Lady English Bloggers:
Tags: chambered nautilus, cosmos english writing blog, Japan, nara storyteller, photos, Sarah's English Writing Blog, Stardust English Talk
Taken at the Yamato Bunka-kan museum, Nara, April 10th, 2012. Click any image to see a larger version. The day was overcast. My friend Cosmos went the day before and had sunshine. See her photos on Cosmos English Writing blog.
My friend Narastoryteller took some lovely photos of cherry trees in the rain. See Sakura, Sakura.
Many Japanese will tell you, until you are sick of hearing it, that Japanese love the cherry blossom because it represents the short life of the samurai; the brief span of the blossom gives it a poignant beauty. But when I stood in front of this weeping cherry, I felt the cherry trees will be here for ever. Only I will not be.
I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen,
of meadow-flowers and butterflies in summers that have been;
Of yellow leaves and gossamer in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun and wind upon my hair.
I sit beside the fire and think of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring that I shall ever see.
Blogger Green Tomato posted photos of cherry trees she saw Here and There.
For still there are so many things that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring there is a different green.(“I Sit and Think” by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Sarah took photos of Spring in Full Swing in Nara and Osaka.
Stardust took photos of Sagi-ike Pond reflections with sakura.
Chambered Nautilus took photos of flowers in her garden before venturing out on a fine day in spring and taking photos in Kyoto and Osaka, including photos of the cherry trees along the Kamogawa river. She writes tanka (Japanese poetry) and even translates them into English for you, so there’s no excuse not to visit!
To be continued…
Tags: chambered nautilus, cherry blossom, cosmos english writing blog, Green Tomato, Nara, nara storyteller, sakura, Sarah's English Writing Blog, Stardust English Talk
Apr 9
Posted by sheffner in culture and communication, lifehacks + cooltools | 2 Comments
People in Japan love cherry blossom, especially standing or sitting under it and getting drunk just enjoying its intoxicating sight and perfume, which activity is called “hanami” 花見 (literally “flower-watching”).
Cherry blossom is rather later this year than usual. Must be global warming. Wait. Maybe global cooling? No, that idea was dumped in the ’70s. Climate change. That’s it. Must be.
Last year, the cherry blossom was in full bloom, or “mankai” 満開 for entrance ceremonies the first week of April.
This year, full-bloom is this week in many parts of Kansai. Last week, Mike Rogers and friends had a hanami-party beside a Tokyo river, proving that you don’t need a whole lot of cherry blossom to have a great party.
But where to go to see the blossom at its best? Dates vary with geography and type of cherry tree.
Here’s the answer:the “hanami” app for iPhone and Android!
日本全国1000か所以上のお花見スポットを収録。開花状況ひとめでわかる。
via 無料のiPhone&Androidアプリ「お花見ナビ2012」- お花見特集2012 – Yahoo! JAPAN.
“1,000 + hanami spots in the palm of your hand. See the stage of blooming at a glance.”
(In Japanese only, maybe.)
One of my earliest memories in Japan is visiting a friend in April. Walking around the small town with his wife and his two young daughters, we came to a field with a big old cherry tree in it. We wandered over, sat down, popped the sake bottles, and just enjoyed watching the petals flutter down and the children playing in the warm sunshine. No blue sheets, no karaoke, no drunken shouting. Just the magic of the blossom and the sunlight playing on open hearts.
For some great photos and a little culture, and all in English, please visit
Tags: Android, cherry blossom, cherry blossom viewing, cosmos english writing blog, Japan, Japanese, sakura
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