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Spring has officially sprung!
Spring has officially arrived, much anticipated after some long months of cold and rain. Summer has been showing a few early signs, but we must make sure to stop and admire the flowers and blooms. The temperatures are rising and there have been some warm days recently! The trees and the flowers have been a wonder to see out in the parks and other green spaces, what has been your favourite flower to see?
Japan has entered fully into sakura season, the early blooming Kawazuzakura are giving way to the famous Yoshino Cherry blossoms all over the country. Tokyo and other big cities are gearing up for their cherry blossom festivals, while the more northern prefectures are still excitedly waiting for the blooms there. The Meguro River is a hot spot for cherry blossom viewing, you can frame the river with the countless amount of trees on either side. March 20th was also Vernal Equinox Day, a day to celebrate the equinox and coming of spring and appreciation of nature. Don't forget that March 16th was also the official day that the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension officially opened! For anyone keen to head up to the Ishikawa and Fukui areas, this is a must use!
Spring means festivals - Early in March there was Hinamatsuri, famous for the decorative dolls that come out to signify it. Niigata also held the Tsunan Snow Festival, filling the sky with floating lanterns and featuring lots of food and drink. Nara's Todaiji was featured in the Omizutori Festival, where fire is used aplenty to signify the coming of spring. The massive Ueno Cherry Blossom Festival also took place in late March and lasts through April, the crowds are so big for a reason!
'Evil Does Not Exist', a new film by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the director of 'Drive my Car' was recently released, a film that depicts the struggle between sustainability and tourism, give it a see if you haven't already!
For this month we have travel spots from Shimane and Tottori, sustainable experiences and racing across the world, let's get started!
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Take a look at some of the many sustainable tourism activities that you can do in Japan!
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From the grand Izumo Taisha to the famous Iwami Ginzan silver mine, learn about what Shimane Prefecture has to offer!
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Located in the Chugoku Region of Japan, and famous for its sand dunes on the ocean, learn what amazing things you can see in Tottori!
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Japan House is opening a new exhibition in May entitled 'Design Discoveries', covering the idea and definition of 'design' in Japan
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With cherry blossom season in full swing, Japan has come alive with the beautiful pink blossoms, learn about some of the hidden cherry blossom spots in Japan!
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The BBC's ever popular show Race Across the World began it's 4th series, recently, check out part 1 of some of the spots that the contestants visited!
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Discover Japan with some fantastic tours and deals!
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Summer is now on the mind |
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The scenery begins to spring to life!
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It's the changing of the seasons, and that means it is time to think about some new seasonal words that we can use in a haiku!
This month in the Kigo Corner we are still in spring, so we will stay with some spring words. There are lots and lots of potential words to use, so let's see what sort of haiku we can make!
Our word for this month is 春日和! Read as 'harubiyori', this word can be translated as a prime spring day, with good weather. The term 日和 or 'biyori' commonly means 'ideal weather', and can be used with other words such as '秋日和', for a perfect autumn day. With spring marching on, there have probably been a few harubiyori days recently, where the sky is clear and you can feel the temperatures warming up, perfect for a nice walk outside. So what are we waiting for, let's make another haiku with this spring kigo!
A reminder that haikus are a 17 mora combination in 5-7-5 style, with occasional 'kireji' punctuation.
Our first line has our seasonal word - 春日和 (harubiyori)
The we move on to a line with 7 mora - 咲くか散るかは (sakuka chiruka ha)
And lastly a line with 5 mora - 桜舞い (sakuramai)
Completed, our haiku reads as -
春日和
咲くか散るかは
桜舞い
On a spring day,
Blooming or falling,
The dance of the sakura.
Haiku writing can be challenging yet rewarding, have you written one before?
Send a haiku you've made to our Instagram account @visitjapan_uk and we may feature them in future newsletters!
Here's some highlights of what we've learned over the past few months:
1) Shimane Prefecture and Tottori Prefecture highlight some of the best of the Chugoku region, well worth a visit!
2) Japan has a plethora of sustainable tourism activities, who wouldn't want to stay a night at a traditional farmhouse?
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There's plenty of Japan related exhibitions, releases, and writing currently happening in the UK - Let's take a look! |
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- 'Drive my Car' director Ryusuke Hamaguchi's new film 'Evil Does Not Exist' is playing in cinemas now, book yourself a ticket!
- 'Ryuichi Sakamoto | OPUS', a concert film documenting maestro Ryuichi Sakamoto's final performance, is also playing, for fans of music, it is an essential!
- While season 2 of 'Tokyo Vice' and the new show 'Shogun' may have ended recently, there's no better time to binge watch them then now!
- The 4th series of the BBC hit show 'Race Across the World' is now airing and the first episode took place in Japan, make sure to see how the contestants traversed the country.
- Japan House London is opening their new exhibit entitled 'Design Discoveries' on May 15th, focusing on the wonderful and historical designs that define Japan
- The V&A Dundee is opening a new exhibition entitled 'KIMONO: Kyoto to Catwalk', covering the iconic history of the kimono.
- The Young V&A is also hosting an exhibition entitled 'Japan: Myths to Manga' which is all about how Japanese history and folklore have impacted modern day technology and art.
- The William Morris Gallery is running an exhibition called 'Art Without Heroes Mingei', with a focus on Japanese folk craft from the early 20th century.
- Read about Awaji Island, one of the many hidden gems in the Seto Inland Sea!
- The Watt's Gallery - Artists' Village in Surrey is hosting an ukiyo-e exhibition entitled 'Edo Pop: Japanese Prints 1825 - 1895', focusing on ukiyo-e prints of Edo (what is now Tokyo) from the 19th century.
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Joshua Mueda from Japan Experience brings us some of the best train lines you can ride to get the best cherry blossom views in the Hokuriku region.
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That’s it from us for this month!
Keep up with all this and much, much more by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
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