27 February, 2010: Ume (Plum) Blossoms

February 27, 2010 mwstephan Leave a comment Japan, Tokyo, Yokohama , , , , ,

Every year the pink and white ume (plum) flowers precede the sakura (cherry) blossoms across Japan and their arrival marks the final cold weeks of winter here in the Yokohama and Tokyo areas.

As they are some of the first colors seen each spring, they are often associated with the start of spring and, as such, the event is marked with festivals (ume matsuri) in gardens, parks, shrines and temples where vendors will set up stalls selling traditional festival foods and artisans playing traditional music on the samisen and koto.

Plum Blossoms at Sankeien Garden in Yokohama:
[smugmug url="http://photos.cephalopoddreams.com/hack/feed.mg?Type=gallery&Data=11361067_doUMH&format=rss200" imagecount="5" start="1" num="5" thumbsize="Th" link="lightbox" captions="false" sort="true" window="false" smugmug="false" size="X1"]

Plum Blossoms at Sumida Park in Tokyo:
[smugmug url="http://photos.cephalopoddreams.com/hack/feed.mg?Type=gallery&Data=11361067_doUMH&format=rss200" imagecount="15" start="1" num="15" thumbsize="Th" link="lightbox" captions="false" sort="true" window="false" smugmug="false" size="X1"]

Up