It’s cherry blossom season in Japan. It’s a beautiful time of year to spend outdoors – the air is fresh with the scent of new flowers, and the breeze is warm and gentle.

Many people have “hanami” (cherry blossom viewing) parties in parks or along riverbanks where the cherries bloom.

It rained quite heavily the other day, so there were not many people out enjoying hanami. But the cherry blossoms are beautiful in the rain too. The sound of the rain drops gently dripping from the petals is so peaceful.

Here are some pictures I took over the past few days. The blossoms are not in full bloom yet, but they still make a nice photograph. 🙂