FESTIVALS
Cherry Blossom Festival
A visit to Japan during sakura (cherry blossom) season is a rare pleasure, and highly recommended. Although the weather can be chilly and damp, the HOTELS full and the streets clogged with revelers, the sight of the delicate blossoms and their intoxicating effect on the people make for a wonderful experience. I had thought it was sentimental hype until I found myself in Kyoto one year during the height of cherry blossom season. The city was awash in pink; enveloping me and everyone around me with their delicate fragrance; the petals falling, fluttering like gentle rain on the sidewalks and onto the hair of young women in their sakura-patterned kimonos. Since then, I haven’t missed a single season.