Spring in Japan                                                                               May 27, 2003

many, many things
they bring to mind --
cherry blossoms          Basho  (1690)

This beautiful haiku by Basho, one of Japan's most famous writers, is simple and poignant.  To better appreciate it, read it several times.

Cherry blossoms have been the actual and representational harbinger of spring in Japan for centuries.  Though they only last a few weeks, after a gray-brown colorless winter their blooms attract crowds.  Families picnic under every available branch of every tree, enjoying food, drinking beer and sake, singing, and generally having a good time (and sometimes actually looking at the cherry trees).

The single blossom trees flower first, then come the double blooms.  The beautiful  blossoms are also symbolic toward their end, when dropped petals cover the ground like fallen snow.   After they're gone, the cherry blossoms are truly missed.

We arrived in Tokyo for the very end of cherry blossom time but in the middle of azalea season, which was magnificent.  The trees were already green and the parks were alive with people taking in the spring warmth and the blooming flowers. 

Japan is quite populous and Tokyo is definitely crowded.  Perhaps this crowdedness partly explains the Japanese idyll of the quiet moment or of an image of simple beauty. These special times and places diffuse away the sometimes jarring reality of bustling cities, where people live close together and personal space is limited. 

Because Japanese real estate is so expensive, people can't afford to buy large apartments or houses.  Sidewalk cafes don't exist (they're not a good use of valuable space) and there's a hum or buzz that one constantly feels in the shopping areas.  

Though Japan is expensive, it's less so than we expected.  (Although the US dollar is very weak, the Japanese yen is not any stronger.)  Also, we didn't have to pay for a hotel room as we stayed with the Steve and Anne, who had a guest bedroom and bath for us in their very well located apartment.  It's always a pleasure to stay with friends and catch up with their lives.  This is especially true when there are children growing up.  We enjoyed spending time with Margo, and she was pleased to have visitors. 

Our sight-seeing uncovered a mostly contemporary Japan that was less modern that I expected.  Indeed there's much that seems run down or wearing out.  The many narrow streets and the ever-present gray above-ground telephone/electric poles with, their myriad of connections and lines, give a sense of oldness, plainness.  But, as Anne pointed out, if you look carefully at the details of your surroundings, you will find much that is beautiful and pleasing.

The language and unfamiliar alphabet make Japan a bit difficult to deal with.  The subways were doable after a quick lesson from Anne on how to buy tickets.  Lunch was also easy.  Fortunately, some time ago restaurants began putting together truly realistic plastic versions of their menu items.  Plates with food and prices are displayed in restaurant windows, and we used these to help order a lunch or two.

Japan is a country of contrasts.  Children of all ages dress in school uniforms with similar patterns and styles, but on a Sunday afternoon in the park the rare encounter with Japan's "modern" youth can also be had.

There are of course the olden places -- palaces, temples and shrines, where we encountered timeless beauty and tradition (as in the wedding procession above).  But there are also new shrines to a modern world, like the just-opened, huge and amazing Roopongi shopping center.  The architecture was eye catching and the complex included a large outdoor pond, a museum, an open-air theater, and almost a dozen gourmet restaurants. 

As an outsider, it's hard to know what to make of Japan.  The best I can do right now is offer you these words and photos.  But for me, cherry blossoms will always bring to mind Basho's haiku and our spring in Japan.  

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