花見 (2)

I did hanami in a park at night last week, but I didn't take any pictures. I went back to the park the next day to take pictures of the flowers. The time of the cherry blossoms is pretty much over now.

都をどり / Miyako Odori

I went to see a geisha dance performance in Kyoto one week ago. It is only performed during the month of April.

花見 (1)

Hanami is popular in the spring during the short time that you can see the cherry blossoms. It is translated as "flower viewing". It's a big event all over Japan.

I went to Osaka Castle Park over a week ago to see the cherry blossoms.

Other Pictures (4)

Hi. I've failed to keep my blog up to date. Sorry about that.

Japanese students had their entrance ceremony this month. I saw tons of people wearing business clothing on campus that day.

I've mentioned that Japanese students had their graduation ceremony in March (I believe they finished in January, after exams). The Japanese semester started this month. At KGU, the Japanese students had their first day of classes on April 3.

The reason my semester started in early February and only ends in late May is because KGU has a separate schedule for its Asian Studies Program, which exchange students are enrolled in. It is modeled off of the American college calendar to better accommodate international students (more than half of which are from the U.S.). Otherwise, it would be difficult for exchange students to study in Japan in the fall, because their semesters at home and the one in Japan would overlap.

Cherry blossoms have sprung up everywhere in the last few weeks. I see beautiful trees all over the place, particularly on my way to school. I didn't even realize that trees were there until they started blooming.

on the way to the grocery store

in Osaka

parfaits at my favorite cafe in Kyoto

I accidentally found a Korea Travel Fair in Osaka last weekend.