, Columnist
Cherry Blossoms Are Back, But Is Tokyo?
Japan’s famous petals are blooming, and for the first time in four years so are the associated parties. But not everything Covid took away will return.
In full bloom.
Photographer: Kiyoshi OtaThis article is for subscribers only.
Tokyoites are getting back into a pre-Covid tradition.
This weekend sees the return of hanami, the cherry-blossom viewing parties that are part of a tradition dating back to the Heian era of 1,200 years ago, before being cruelly interrupted by the Covid pandemic. Each spring heralds the spectacular-but-short-lived bloom of the flowers that coincides with the end of Japan’s fiscal and school years1, and becomes a time of partings, new beginnings — and an excuse for raucous drinking parties beneath the petals.