Sakura sakura

Looks like I'm running behind a bit writing posts, there's just too much going on these days. Well, 2 weeks ago we went for the お花見 ("o-hanami", flower viewing, of course referring to the famous cherry blossoms).
Around that time, the cherry blossoms had finally decided to show. A bit late, but fortunate for me, since it allowed me to witness the complete cherry blossom season this time. The scenery we chose couldn't have been nicer: The big park around Osaka castle, which is a great place to go any time of the year, with lots of green, spots to walk or rest, and of course the impressive castle itself. Adding all the cherry trees in full bloom to a place like this made it easy to understand why cherries are such a big deal in Japan. That being said, it's not surprising that we were not the only people among the 2.6 million Osaka-jins that decided to use a sunny Sunday afternoon to visit the park..

The second お花見-related event I want to write about is our lab picnic last week. Staff and students drove to the nearby Keihanna Park, and brought one of those big blue plastic sheets to sit on. Each brought their own obentou-lunchboxes which we then enjoyed while talking and watching the cherries.  Here are some pictures: