Saturday, April 4, 2009

The 4 Seasons

Before I came to Japan, well actually even when I was here, I heard and read a lot (mostly in tourism books) about Japan famously known for having 4 seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

At first, I thought...what's the big deal? I mean, Canada ALSO has 4 seasons -- which I think are quite pretty...

Then, it dawned on me on this particular day when I saw this Kewpei display, that Japan takes great pride in their seasons because each one is truly unique to some cultural aspect or another. There are rare snow-falls in the winter time, unless you live in Hokkaido (where oddly enough where climate conditions are very similar to that of Southern-Ontario)... In the fall, they have "red-leaf" viewing, and there are a ton of beautiful scenic areas in Kyoto. I was really surprised to see how long the leaves stay on the trees before falling. Spring is famous for hanami when pink and white cheery blossoms welcome in the new year, a.k.a. work-terms begin and school commences. Finally, summer, when the biggest and best of the yearly festivals occur.



No comments:

Post a Comment