It is mid-February here in
Osaka and that means it is fruit-tree blossoming season. There is a family of
stone fruit that flowers every year here in Japan. A stone fruit is a fruit
where the seed is inside of a hard pit at the center of the fruit. Some
examples of stone fruits are plums, peaches, cherries, and almonds. All of
these trees blossom starting in late winter with the last blooming mid-spring.
The first trees to start
blooming are the plum trees. Plum trees
are much smaller than cherry trees, but the color of their flowers have many
more varieties and are much more vibrant. The
plumb garden in Osaka Castle Park
is in full bloom this week and the sight is stunning. There are subtle pinks
and soft yellow-greens, but my favorite are the vivid dark pink ones.
Many Japanese people gush
about the beauty of cherry blossoms, but I feel they tend to forget about plum
blossom season. Maybe it is because February is much colder and the trees are
much shorter, meaning you can't sit
under the flowers and enjoy a drink or meal with your friends, or maybe it is
because there are so many fewer dotting the country side.
Next, will be the peach
blossoms. There are fewer peach trees in Osaka Castle Park than there are plum
or cherry trees, but the ones that are there are most beautiful in late
February and early March. The branches of peach trees tend to be much thinner
and so the flowers cluster close to the branch, unlike the cherry and plum
blossoms which bloom
at the branch tips. Peach blossoms are just as colorful
and numerous as their plum siblings, but there are fewer trees to appreciate in
the Park.
Finally, there are the
cherry blossoms. As the peach blossoms are starting to finish, and the plums
trees are starting to get their leaves, the cherry blossoms start to bloom.
Cherry trees are everywhere
in Japan, but the local parks have the greatest collection of cherry trees. In
some cities, for example Utsunomiya, Tochigi, the cherry trees create a sea of
pink and white flowers to be enjoyed by the public. In normal years, many
Japanese people enjoy the beautiful spring weather together in their local
parks sitting or walking under the cherry blossoms. Some like to eat meals,
like lunch or dinner, others like to drink a few beers with friends. I enjoy
hiking and enjoying the beautiful weather. After a long cold winter it is great
to be able to get outside and enjoy nature once again before the hot, humid
Japanese summer forces us back inside into our air-conditioned rooms.
While I personally love
winter and autumn the most, I am excited for this spring. With the all the
beautiful blossoms, spring brings with it the promise of a brighter future, and
is a harbinger of the world returning to normal. After a long year spent indoors
social distancing, and a cold winter without the opportunity of travel or
skiing for many of us, the fruit tree blossoms this spring will beckon us all
back out into the world to enjoy our lives once again.
vibrant:活気に満ちた
stunning:見事な
gush about:夢中で語る
tend to:傾向がある
branches:枝
cluster:集まる
numerous:たくさん
siblings:兄弟
appreciate:鑑賞する
harbinger:前触れ
beckon:手招き
