An update from our RISD Tokyo Leader, Karin Kunori 10 GD:

Many greetings from Tokyo! After a long winter, spring is finally here. In Japan, people celebrate the coming of spring with Hanami (flower viewing) when sakura (cherry blossoms) bloom all over the country. The season is brief, usually lasting just two weeks between the end of March and the beginning of April.

The Japanese word is written 花見. “花” means flower, and “見”, means observing. The Hanami custom is many centuries old, and it used to announced the start of the rice harvest season. The sakura (and traditional haiku poems about sakura) remind us to cherish each day. The short life span of the flowers, and even the beauty of the falling petals is a Japanese metaphor for life; spirited and beautiful, yet fleeting and ephemeral. 

In the modern day, Hanami commonly consists of having an outdoor party with friends and colleagues. People gather wherever sakura trees are found to hold picnics and festivals from early morning to night. 

Last weekend, some RISD TOKYO alumni got together to enjoy a Japanese Hanami picnic with many more Tokyo friends. Sitting under the sakura trees at Inokashira Park, we enjoyed good food, drink, and merry company. Inokashira Park, in west Tokyo, is famous for having over 1000 sakura trees, and a lake where people can rent boats to view the blossoms on the water’s edge. Here are several photos from our event! An afternoon of sunshine, boat riding, picnicking, sharing stories and making new friends. We wish you were here!

To connect with alumni in and around Tokyo, please join our Facebook group.