Hanami – flower viewing

The hanami or ‘flower viewing’ season here in Japan is short, too short if you ask most people. Often the splendour only last for about a week. This year, the winter has been a bit colder than usual, which causes the cherry buds to start growing at an earlier point, no matter how contradictory. You´d better plan this year´s fiesta somewhere between April 5 to 14, which is the estimated best viewing dates, with an estimated bud opening on March 29.

Today we had 20 degrees and it looked like this:Two weekends ago it looked like this, however it didn´t stay for long.The snow inspired me to make this arrangement:Have a great weekend everyone!

Hinamatsuri 雛祭り

Hinamatsuri is Doll´s Day or Girls´ Day which is celebrated in Japan on March 3.
This is the time when ornamental dolls are displayed on a red carpet. These dolls represent the Emperor and the Empress (on the first platform), their attendants and often musicians. They are all dressed in court dress from the Heian period (794-1185). The tradition tells that people believed that the dolls contained bad spirits and therefore set straw dolls afloat on a boat and sent them out to sea, thus taking trouble and bad spirits with them.
Dolls are usually on display from February but will be taken down immediately after the festival. Leaving them on display might result in your daughters getting married later in life, if at all… Want to make sure and keep them close to home? Just display the dolls all year round!

Happy Valentine´s!

Happy Valentine´s!
Here in Japan the custom with the man presenting a gift to his loved one seems somewhat different as seen through my western eyes. On February 14th, the women present their love interests with a chocolate gift, a honmei-choko. However, do not fret if presented with chocolate. There is also the less romantic giri-choko, which is presented to male friends, colleagues and not to forget, the boss. This is more about gratitude and returning the favour. The time for men to reciprocate returns on March 14, when it is White Day.
Obvious enough? On Saturday, just a week ago, Tokyo saw a tremendous snow fall with 27 cm almost dumped over the city. Just a couple of days before, we had sunny weather and +20 degrees C. On Sunday and Monday it was back to +14, and it wasn´t until yesterday all snow was gone.
Guess what? It´s back, so bring out those old DVDs and light a candle, curl up in the sofa with your favourite chocolate (that you might just as well have bought yourself, who cares after all) and just enjoy…
Have a great weekend everyone! Love ❤

Baby, it´s cold outside…

Winter is gracing us in Tokyo today. This is central Tokyo just before noon. It´s truly the ultimate excuse to stay indoors and enjoy a cup of tea and a book. Have a great weekend everyone!           Here goes my urban garden!