Its a nice time of year hear in Japan. The cherry blossoms are out in full force, and really keeping Tokyo looking beautiful. For pretty much all of winter, Tokyo is a very bleak city. It is very grey, and not enough green. Then spring comes, and what a change the city has. There are explosions of colour all around the city, mostly due to the cherry and plum blossoms which cause pinks and purple blotches all around the city. The other trees also add a decent amount of green.

Near my house is a pretty nice flower store that has a cherry tree that goes right through the second floor balcony. Its a pretty impressive thing to walk by every day, but even more so when the cherry blossoms are out. Here's a photo of what it looks like at night as the guy lights it up.



The owner of the store is a nice guy. Speaks a little English, is friendly and always says hello when I walk buy. Its a good thing to have a sense that the community where I live is friendly and welcoming.

Tokyo has pretty much a completely different atmosphere during this period. People are leaving work earlier... heading out to parties, and having evening barbeques. Its great to have people in a happy and positive mood!