Japan "à la carte": Mindtrek in bloom

Japan has a wide variety of cherry species. In Japan these small pink flowers have been honored for centuries, the cherry blossom is so popular that it is considered the national flower. The blossom is celebrated throughout the country in spring and is the occasion for large festive gatherings in parks where Japanese people gather to picnic, sing, dance, walk and talk. Today the cherry blossom festivals are an unmissable event. They attract travelers from all over the world and from all over Japan to see the ornamental cherry trees, the "sakura", in full bloom. The main attraction of the cherry blossom festival is of course the sakura, but these festivals also include a series of cultural traditions and events that have continued over time. These traditional festivals are held throughout the country and are characterized by moments of relaxation in which people drink sake and practice a real contemplative activity called "Hanami", which literally means "contemplating the flowers", and which was already considered a particularly noble activity over 1,000 years ago. In the Shinto religion, sakura trees are said to contain spirits or sacred forces, making the cherry blossom season an important cultural event among Shinto communities. In Buddhism, cherry blossoms symbolize the impermanence of things and the transience of life.