All dolled up

Hanami is not just a time to see the stunning cherry blossoms, it lets Japanese people strut their stuff after being cooped up all winter. And despite their somewhat antisocial image, the same goes for doll users. Amid the rowdy hordes of merrymakers in Ueno Park last year, a large group of doll enthusiasts came out to quietly enjoy an evening out with their favorite little lady. Their doll-inspired costumes—from Rozen Maiden, a popular manga and anime—caused even more of a commotion than the hundreds of karaoke-singing sods around them.—Patrick W. Galbraith

Take a seat
Top tips on how to score the best hanami spot

1. Rope off the area with crime scene tape and pay a cash-strapped friend/banker to play dead until you arrive

2. Find a group of middle-aged OLs and stage a loud conversation about how “[insert name of Johnny’s idol here] is signing autographs next door”

3. Find a group of middle-aged salarymen; repeat step 2, substituting anyone from Morning Musume

4. Hire disgraced finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa to hold another apologetic press conference across the park

5. Get a loudspeaker and blare political propaganda at top volume until the crowds thin out

6. Dress up as Vikings and stage a mock invasion

7. Turn up the night before and camp out at your spot of choice. (OK, we’re really entering the realms of fantasy now…)

Bye-Bye Blossom?

Never mind the melting ice caps, desertification, disease pandemics or food shortages. If global warming continues unchecked, it might mean an end to cherry blossom viewing as we know it—in some parts of the country, at least. That was the chilling conclusion reached by a study conducted by meteorologists at Kyushu University and released last November. Researchers predicted what would happen to somei yoshino, the most common breed of blossom tree in Japan, if the average temperature increased by 2-3 degrees Celsius between now and 2100. The answer: sakura season would roll around up to three weeks earlier in the northern Tohoku area, hile—paradoxically—occuring 1-2 weeks later in parts of Kyushu. Moreover, warmer temperatures would upset the development of flower buds, meaning that trees wouldn’t even enter into full bloom in parts of Kyushu and in Chiba, Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures. Guess we’ll have to start thinking of other excuses to get drunk in public, then.

Wig out

A full line of sakura-related wigs is available from party goods company Jig—because even the beauty and majesty of nature could do with a bit of wackiness sometimes. Shop online at www.kk-jig.com or stop by Tokyu Hands or Loft.

Blooming Disasters
The news isn’t always happy for hanami

Bad luck x 2
When rain washed out their hanami in 2004, a group of friends in Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture, decided to go to an izakaya to drink off the disappointment. As if the rain wasn’t bad enough, a huge fire started up in the restaurant at around 3:45pm. The two-story wooden establishment completely burned down, and about 20 local sakura lovers, aged between 50 to 70, had to flee. Two men were sent to the hospital with injuries that included burns, and broken bones from jumping from the second floor.

Knifing through
At Kakurinji Park in Hyogo Prefecture in 2006, a pair of men attacked two hanami picnickers who asked them to queue up to use the restroom. The victims were stabbed in the chest and legs, and ended up in the hospital for two weeks. The attackers were arrested for attempted murder and assault. That same year, at Kobayashi Park in Osaka, two groups of hanami-goers started an argument that resulted in a 30-year-old man being stabbed in the stomach. The knife had been brought to cut vegetables at the party. The assailant was said to have become angry when a total stranger jokingly asked him to cook some udon noodles for him.

Scene-stealers
In 1987, police issued a warning to a man in Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, who was seen cutting branches off blossoming cherry trees. The man claimed he “wanted to use them to decorate his friend’s shop.” Police let him go after determining he wasn’t acting out of malice. In 2006, along the Kamo River in Kyoto, a chef in his 20s chopped off six sakura and 21 yukinayagi branches, saying he wanted to “use them for cooking.” The next day, along the same river, another cook in his 30s lopped off 13 sakura branches. Both men were cautioned by the police.

Not your typical omiyage
In 2001, three foreigners, including two who identified themselves as Israelis, were arrested by Aichi police for violation of the trademark law after they set up shop selling fake designer brand goods under the cherry trees. Taking advantage of the rowdy crowd of happy hanami viewers, the trio operated in two locations, offering bogus Louis Vuitton wallets and Rolex watches. Although police confiscated over 360 contraband items, the suspects said they only managed to sell “one or two a day.”

Space for Sale
At Ueno Park in 2006, an unemployed man was arrested for violating public nuisance laws after he was caught selling seats to hanami-goers for ¥1,000. The man took over some 13m2 of space along the park’s Sakura Dori, and sold it off in chunks. He told police that his “co-workers” made him do it.
Source: Iza, an interactive news site run by Sankei Digital Inc. www.iza.ne.jp