Hirosaki Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival)

These are my favorite of the 300 Pictures we took last Tuesday. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was! Every where I turned was another perfect shot for a picture. We had a great time, especially since we had our good friends with us.

The cherry blossoms begin blossoming in southern Japan in late March/April and ends up by us in late April early May. One of the most famous festivals is in Hirosaki, about 2 hours west from Misawa.

Here's a little wiki info for you:

The cherry blossom also known as Sakura (Japanese kanji : 桜 or 櫻; hiragana: さくら) in Japanese. In English, the word "sakura" is equivalent to the Japanese flowering cherry. In China the cherry blossom symbolizes feminine beauty, the feminine principle, or love in the language of herbs. In Japan cherry blossoms also symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse, besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, an aspect of Japanese cultural tradition that is often associated with Buddhistic influence. The transience of the blossoms, the extreme beauty and quick death, has often been associated with mortality; for this reason, cherry blossoms are richly symbolic, and have been utilized often in Japanese art, manga, anime, and film, as well as at musical performances for ambient effect.

Which picture is your fav?*Thank you Wikipedia!