Today it was officially announced that the cherry trees in Tokyo started blooming, 6 days later than last year. The announcement is made every year when the Meteorological Agency confirms more than 5 flowers in bloom on one of the cherry trees at Yasukuni Shrine, located near the Imperial Palace.
Obviously we were not in the mood to cheerfully look forward to the flowers, and since it has been especially cold for the past week, the news seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
I am speechless when I think of people who suffered the most in the earthquake and tsunami, and grateful to be safe and alive.
The cherry flowers will be in full bloom in a week or so. I hope the flowers will bring hope and strength to our country, and remind all the people that Japan is such a beautiful country.
