No barfin' under the blossoms

[Taro Toporific]

[floatl][/floatl]
Beyond the Blossoms, a Language Barrier Grows
Washington Post, Monday, March 20, 2006; Page B01
It is often the tradition in Japan to celebrate the pale-pink arrival of the cherry blossoms by sitting beneath the canopy of a blooming tree with family and friends and pouring some sake. And some beer. And then singing and dancing -- after several more rounds of sake and then more beer, late into the evening.
This is not necessarily how Washingtonians celebrate the blossoms. And in fact, the sake and beer part is very much against National Park Service regulations.... organizers of the National Cherry Blossom Festival .... are trawling universities, businesses, embassies, government agencies and even Buddhist temples to find Japanese speakers who can greet the influx of tourists and offer directions and translation, particularly concerning such matters as the District's open-container law...more...:drunk:

[homesweethome]

Cherry Blossom Wars

This year's predictions of when cherry trees will begin blossoming throughout Honshu vary widely, with privately owned weather service Weather News casting doubt over dates announced by the Meteorological Agency.

This really isn't related to Taro's post but I thought it was interesting. But not enough to merit a major post.

[Taro Toporific]

I already seeing some pink on my trees on Sakurazaka.
Folks are wistfully looking at the trees getting ready to get barfing dead drunk.


Listen and watch the Sakurazaka song here on YouTube.

Cherry Blossom Wars



This really isn't related to Taro's post but I thought it was interesting. But not enough to merit a major post.

[homesweethome]

I already seeing some pink on my trees on Sakurazaka.
Folks are wistfully looking at the trees getting ready to get barfing dead drunk.

I can relate to Masaharu's plight!

"Nobody feels sorry for me, so I have to feel sorry for myself"



and to you Major Post...

[Greji]

and to you Major Post...

Damn! The Capt'n put on a couple of pounds during his trip to CA!

[homesweethome]

Damn! The Capt'n put on a couple of pounds during his trip to CA!

But the pink is nearly in view!

That's what we all have to look forward to!

[Captain Japan]

Damn! The Capt'n put on a couple of pounds during his trip to CA!

Who told you?! We'll see if I can slim down, especially in my chest.

[Greji]

Who told you?! We'll see if I can slim down, especially in my chest.

Just don't take any high tight ones until you do!

[Jack]

I can relate to Masaharu's plight!

"Nobody feels sorry for me, so I have to feel sorry for myself"



and to you Major Post...

I certainly don't need a picture to remind me of how repulsive white North American chicks can be.

To quote Ted Danson in an episode of Cheers, if I had been in jail for 5 years and then in an all-male navy ship for 8 years, and then stranded alone on a desert island for another 7 years, and I see this girl walk up the beach from the water, all I would want from her is the hockey score.

[Kuang_Grade]

Well, it goes both ways.....There probably more than a few Japanese cherry blossom customs that probably would surprise US folks as well. From a sakura party section at Seibu Loft in Osaka a few weeks ago.

[Currawong]

Down here in Kyushu we've had blossoms for over a week.

[Taro Toporific]

....often the tradition in Japan to celebrate the pale-pink arrival of the cherry blossoms by sitting beneath the canopy of a blooming tree with family and friends and pouring some sake. And some beer. And then singing and dancing -- after several more rounds of sake and then more beer, late into the evening.......more...:drunk:

More barfing in the news....

[INDENT]Bereaved parents call for end to forced binge drinking
MSN-Mainichi Daily News, March 24, 2006
A group of parents whose children died after being forced to drink large amounts of alcohol have grouped together ahead of the university entrance season to produce coasters with warnings against forced drinking....more...
:puke: [/INDENT]

[Taro Toporific]

More barfing in the news....

America and Japan
Blossoms and booze
The Economist print edition, Mar 30th 2006 | WASHINGTON, DC
THE arrival of spring raises an important question. Is it better to admire the cherry blossoms drunk or sober? In Japan, the consensus is D-R-U-N-K. When the sakura bloom, Japanese people sit in parks getting raucously sloshed and contemplating the transience of life, as symbolised by those briefly spectacular flowers. Everyone agrees that alcohol heightens the experience.
Not so in Washington, DC. America's capital ought to be a great place for hanami (flower-watching) parties...Open a Bud beneath the opening buds and you risk arrest.
How do visiting Japanese feel about this outrage? They may be too polite to say. "Drunken hanami parties are fun, of course. But they can be vulgar too, with all the karaoke machines," says Naoki Ito:drunk:

[Mulboyne]

Telegraph: Cherries winning the blossom race

Japan's picnic calendar has been thrown into confusion as spring cherry blossom appears likely to bloom in the north at the same time as, or even ahead of, plum blossom, which normally appears in January and February. The two events are usually enjoyed in very different atmospheres by different kinds of people. But a cold winter has made plum blossom two months late in northern cities such as Sendai...Cherry has overtaken plum only once in the past 20 years...
...Plum trees are smaller than the famed sakura cherry but are appreciated for their delicate white and sometimes crimson flowers. Cherry trees produce profuse pink blossom, which some plum fans find showy. But most Japanese prefer cherry blossom because it heralds the arrival of spring and because of the poignancy of the brief two weeks of its spectacular beauty. Cherry blossom parties are drunken events, with hundred-strong groups of students or company colleagues monopolising the best spots. Compulsory down-in-one drinking is widespread, vomiting commonplace and portable karaoke units are used to appalling effect...more...

[Captain Japan]

Cherry blossoms could set record for earliest arrival yet
Asahi

Cherry blossoms, nature's way of saying spring is here, are likely to burst into bloom nationwide four to five days earlier than usual, a private meteorological company predicts.

In fact, Weathernews Inc. says the blooms may set a new record for an early start if temperatures warm up in coming weeks.

The company Wednesday unveiled its forecast for the blossoming of someiyoshino cherry trees nationwide.

March 18 will be the big day at Tateyama Park in Nagasaki and in the compounds of Kumamoto Castle in Kumamoto, the company said. The cherries at Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo are likely to flower March 19 and at Osaka Castle Park March 22.

The earliest recorded date for Tokyo blooms was March 16, 2002....more...