What You Missed At The Cherry Blossom Festival

My roommate and I took a trip to Japantown in San Francisco. Aside from already being huge fans of J-Town, we were even more excited to see the parade, eat delicious food, and visit the malls. The Cherry Blossom Festival happens annually, and according to Shizuko Mishima’s article Cherry Blossom Festivals, the festival celebrates Hanami, an important Japanese custom during the spring where citizens of Japan can view and appreciate flowers, mainly cherry blossoms (it is during this time when the cherry trees blossom). It is said that the concept of Hanami dated back one thousand years ago when aristocrats enjoyed watching the beauty of cherry blossoms and even wrote poems of appreciation. Nowadays, people in Japan celebrate viewing cherry blossoms by drinking, eating, singing, and dancing. Hanami usually occurs during the end of March all through April.

Within the nearby malls of where the festival took place, my roommate and I went shopping. In a photo of Daiso, you can see the festive shop selling unauthentic decorations depicting cherry blossoms, dolls dressed in traditional kimonos, and koi fish flags. Outside of the store, we also ran into a few characters adorned in white masks and happily celebrating the festival with the infamous K-pop dance, Gangnam Style.

When we left the malls, we bumped into a sea of pedestrians and bystanders witnessing the parade. The parade consisted of talented cosplayers, or those who dress up in an accurate depiction of a fictional character of their choice. There were many cosplayers from Luffy of One Piece to Zelda from the Legend of Zelda chronicles. Accompanying the line of cosplayers were many other performers who performed traditional Japanese dances and played popular J-pop music.