Hanami outside Japan

[Kama]

I'd like to ask those who live outside Japan, if you had hanami in your city.

How did it go? Any photos, funny memories?

 

[budd]

google "washington cherry blossom festival"
peace hth

 

[MeAndroo]

We had a cherry blossom festival here in so cal as well. It's been going on for about 4 years, and used to be based in Pasadena but got moved to the Rose Bowl this year. I certainly wouldn't refer to it as hanami, though, because it's much different from the tarp-sitting, snack munching, sake imbibing activity that takes place in Japan. I have pics from my times in Tokyo, but nothing that would mean much from so cal.

Favorite hanami memory: drinking jnro in a cemetary while my buddy's japanese friends lit their cigarettes with a mini blow torch.

 

[Kama]

I certainly wouldn't refer to it as hanami, though, because it's much different from the tarp-sitting, snack munching, sake imbibing activity that takes place in Japan. I have pics from my times in Tokyo, but nothing that would mean much from so cal.

So how did it look like then?

I was attending hanami party last year, and it started to rain during our picnic. This year, we had hanami party too. On Sunday, and it rained almost all the day. Anyway, we had a party after all. Standing in rain with plastic cups filled with genmaicha, eating salt sticks and talking about strange things. We had fun really. And tomorrow, we will have another party. Sakura is still blooming. I hope it won't rain. :-D

If anyone wanted to see some of the photos from our hanami they are on my deviantart. But these photos are rather artistic, not "eating and drinking" ones.

 

[MeAndroo]

Well, aside from the fact that we weren't surrounded by sakura trees getting wasted, it was more of a carnival style atmosphere than typical hanami. Booths, food vendors, martial arts demos...kind of a hodge podge amalgamation of japanese culture-related stuff.

 

[Otosan-no-Conan]

Unfortunately people outside Japan don't have four seasons...

In Los Angeles we only have one season... and some rainy days...

Joku... Ha ha