The end of March and the beginning of April is the cherry blossom (i.e. sakura) season in Osaka. During this season it is easy to have a conversation with strangers, namely about the voluptuous cherry trees – a topic that is on everyone’s lips, and which can be covered with very limited vocabulary. Tourists from all over the world come to Japan to see the sakura. They gather at all the main touristy sakura spots in Osaka (and elsewhere in Japan) for a period of a couple of weeks.
The good thing is, cherry trees are everywhere in Osaka (and Japan), not just in well-known parks and big Castle grounds. Cherry trees decorate train lines, school yards, supermarket car parks, industrial sites and flyovers, i.e. hardly the most picturesque of places, although one week a year, cherry blossom adds some glamour to these places.
In cherry viewing style, many people are having a picnic under the cherry trees until the evening or even until the night, drinking, eating, chatting and enjoying the cherry blossoms in the moonlight.
It is a breathtaking season in which nature awakens from the long winter.
Mar 4, 2018