"dumplings rather than flowers" / 花より団子

Last night in honor of the beginning of the cherry blossom season, SAKK held a hanami party, which I was very fortunate to be able to attend. Quoting wikpedia:

Hanami (花見, Hanami? lit. "flower viewing") is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms (桜 or 櫻, sakura?), or ume blossoms (梅, ume?). From late March to early May, sakura bloom all over Japan. The blossom forecast (桜前線, sakurazensen?, lit. cherry blossom front) is announced each year by the weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning hanami as the blossoms only last a week or two. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night. Hanami at night is called yozakura (lit. "night sakura").

As you can see in the pictures, it was a true yozakura, held in a small park near the SAKK office. While in the US if we had tried this we would either have been shot, panhandled to distraction or arrested, but since we were in Tokyo we had a very pleasant time, eating delicious food (dice brought burgers!) and drinking 100% Malt, chu-hi and Wataru-san's plum sake.

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