Japan changes, the temperature rises, a sweet smell is in the air and flocks of people are gathering in places all over Japan. Somehow the rules change, people eat in the streets and drink outside, not everywhere, but under the charm of beautiful pink flowers; it's sakura season. 

Japan is nearing one of it's most popular times of the year; cherry blossom, or sakura, season. It's a big thing in Japan, drawing tremendous amounts of both local as well as international tourists. While cherry blossoms can be seen in any part of the world, in Japan it is not just the cherry blossom, but the whole atmosphere that comes with it which makes it special. 

Sakura season is one of the best times of the year to visit Japan. The weather is comfortable, there's lots to do and temples and shrines are even more beautiful than usual. But how do you plan a trip around cherry blossom time? Here are some tips to have a maximum chance of success. 

Check the cherry blossom forecast
Cherry blossom in Okinawa blooms as early as the beginning of january due to the warmer temperatures. However, the season lasts until around the end of April/the beginning of May, so there's plenty of time to plan your trip if you don't care where in Japan you'll go. However, if you do have a specific area you want to visit, say Kyoto for example, check out the more detailed and regularly updates forecast on the Japan National Tourism website. Blooming of cherry blossom lasts for about two weeks, with the full bloom (mankai) being reached after about 1 week after the firts blossoms open up.  

Decide where you want to see cherry blossom
There are many places to enjoy sakura. Depending on what you like, it can be good to decide on where to see the sakura beforehand. I personally enjoy Kyoto, due to the large variety of places to see the cherry blossom (both in the city as well as in more natural settings), the beautiful Kamo river and because it's still so traditional. However, there are many, MANY more beautiful places to watch sakura. Here you can find some recommendations on where to go. 

BOOK! 
Since cherry blossom season is so popular in Japan, not only foreigners fill up the hostels and hotels, but also national tourists. Therefore accommodation can fill up fast, especially in the most popular cities like Kyoto and Tokyo. Also, be prepared for higher fares at this time due to the large influx of tourists. 

Participate in Hanami
Hanami is the Japanese word for 'flower viewing' and is the most important word when referring to the Japanese sakura celebrations. It is usually done during the peak of cherry blossom bloom and while you can participate by just walking around and watching the flowers, the most common way is to have a picnic under the beautiful cherry blossom trees. It is truely amazing to participate and sit between celebrating Japanese people eating from their Bento's and drinking their (alcoholic) drinks. However, it is important to keep in mind some unwritten rules.

- Respect the trees!! The cherry blossom trees should not be damaged in whichever way. I remember when I studied in Kyoto, someone broke a branch off of a cherry blossom tree. This was big news in both Kyoto and I even believe in other parts of Japan. Here in the Netherlands we wouldn't care to much if a tree branch was broken off, but in Japan the police became involved and it seemed very important to catch the culprit. 

- Don't leave your garbage. The Japanese are very clean. They never leave their garbage, and definitely not underneath the beautiful cherry blossom trees. So be sure to bring a garbage bag and clean up after yourself so you can truely experience the Japanese ways of hanami. 

- Bring food (bento boxes for example) and drinks (but be sure to check the rules of the park you're going too, since some don't allow alcohol or barbecues). Also, hanami is about sharing food as well, so bring some paper cups and plates so everyone can join. 

Find a festival
Seek out a cherry blossom festival to get the most out of your experience. If you're in town at the top-bloom of cherry blossoms, it is likely that there will be a festival, somewhere. It can sometimes be difficult to find out where, but local hostel/hotel staff can probably help you with that and show you the way to the best festivals in, for example, parks or temples. 

Eat the seasonal specials
All kinds of special food and drink items can be found during sakura season. In the konbini you can find special rice balls (onigiri), red-bean treats and sakura-mochi, which are sticky rice cakes. Furthermore, in some places you will be able to find special sakura bento boxes filled with all kinds of food perfect for celebrating hanami. 

Stay up after nightfall
In both cherry-blossom season and autumn-leave season in Japan, nightfall doesn't mean the end of the festivities. At this time, with cherry blossom in full bloom, a lot of places light up the beautiful trees. You can find these places outside in the city, but also many temples, shrines and castles will open their doors at night to the general public. One of my most favorite places in Kyoto are Maruyama park, where you can see a huge, old and beautiful cherry blossom tree, and Toji temple, where you can see the five-storied pagoda amidst the lit up trees. 

Let me know if you were able to experience the cherry blossoms this year and whether you liked it in the comments below! :) 

Japan, the land of traditions. So you're visiting Japan and are ready for an amazing trip, but after all the stories about polite Japanese people you become a bit worried.... What is okay to do and what isn't? What should you avoid doing when eating? In this blog I will tell you about the most important things to take into account when visiting Japan. I've asked my Japanese friends for advice so that I wouldn't miss a thing, so here we go!

Eating

1. Don't stick your chopsticks (straight) in a bowl of rice while taking a break from eating
This is one of the most common things foreigners do (and I do it myself at home sometimes as well). Although it is very easy to just stick your chopstick into the rice, please try to avoid it! The name for this is tsukitate-bashi. At funerals a bowl of rice is placed at an altar with chopsticks in the standing up straight in the center. Therefore it's very impolite to do this at any other occasion since it will remind Japanese people of funerals. 

2. Don't pass on food from chopsticks to chopsticks
This is another funeral related tradition. However, at funerals it is not the food which is passed on, but the bones of the cremated deceased person. 

3. Tips are not necessary
Although things are changing in Japan, giving tips is still an uncommon practice. At some smaller bars and where young people work (for example at hostels), tipping sometimes happens, but usually at the normal Japanese bars and restaurants tipping is absolutely not necessary. People simply just don't do it, so by not tipping you can avoid uncomfortable situations. 

4. Paying the bill at the counter
Not really something that has to do with impoliteness, but more of a tip I'd like to give you. Often when going for dinner somewhere, you'll get the receipt at the table. Since in the Netherlands you almost always pay at the table I made the mistake of waiting or asking if you can pay but then being directed to the counter at the entrance. In Japan, you just take your receipt and walk to the counter to pay. Nowadays it's a practice I try to do in the Netherlands as well. It saves time waiting and is quite convenient actually!  

Of course, these are only the most important things. If you want to know more about dining etiquette, check out this page for example: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2005.html

In public

1. Don't be loud!
Japanese are very calm and quiet people. They generally talk in this way too. Even though we, the Dutch, and many other cultures are used to speaking more loudly, it can be considered very rude in Japan. Of course it is difficult to talk in a more quiet way, especially if you're enthusiastic about all the awesome things you're experiencing, but try to be aware of the way you and your friends are talking, especially in public places like the subway, restaurants, etc. 

2. Don't eat or call while in public transport
Eating or calling over the cellphone should definitely be avoided when in public transport. While eating is generally alright on the shinkansen or long bus rides (try to avoid smelly food or food that makes a lot of noise though), it is not okay to eat on the subway. The same is true for making phonecalls, although I feel like these should be avoided in all kinds of public transport. 

3. Wearing a (surgical) mask 
Although it might feel weird to you, it is very normal and considered polite to wear a mask in Japan when you're feeling sick. In the hard-working society this can be a way to still come to work without putting co-workers at risk of becoming sick too. However, the mask can also be used to prevent yourself from becoming sick. If you want to know more about these surgical masks and why people wear them, check out this article: https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/why-do-japanese-people-wear-surgical-masks-its-not-always-for-health-reasons . 

4. Responding to irrashaimase
Okay, to be fair, this doesn't really have to do with politeness or etiquette I believe, it's more of a funny addittion. When I was in Japan I went shopping sometimes (doh...!) and I was always greeted by several shop employees calling irrashaimaseeeee, which means something like "can I help you" although it is just meant in a welcoming way. It took me weeks to figure out how to respond to this. Although I'm a bit ashamed to say this, the first couple of times I just responded by saying Irrashaimase back to the shop employees which means that I was responding to a loud "Welcomeeeee" by saying "Welcomeeee" haha. Then I thought maybe to say Arigatou, which means thank you. But after observing other people in the shop I realised it is perfectly normal to say nothing at all! Just let the people welcome you like they welcome everyone and continue your shopping like nothing has happened :) 

Conversations/Visiting a Japanese person

1. Take off your shoes before entering someone´s house
This is very important. Keeping on your shoes is a definite no-go. Houses are kept very clean, so shoes don´t belong there. This rule is also important for temples, in many changing rooms in shops, or in more traditional restaurants. A way to know whether you should take off your shoes is buy looking around. If you see a small elevation in the floor with for example tatami, you should definitely take off your shoes, if you see pairs of shoes without there owners, that could be an indicator too ;) but usually the elevation in the floor is the main cue. 

2. Use "name"-san when talking to someone
When you meet someone and adress this person, or adress another person when talking about him/her, use the honorific -san. This is the most commonly used, so also the most safe one to use. There are other ones like -chan and -kun for close friends or family, or -senpai/-kohai for colleagues or fellow students. However, -san is used in a way like Sir/Madam and therefore a polite way to address anyone new. Using -san is also the easiest way since it's used for both men and women. Therefore, really try to use it. The Japanese have many many honorifics for all kinds of relationships, so not using one is quite strange and I think kind of implies that you both are totally equal. -san provides the safest option for avoiding this. Never introduce yourself with the honorific -san though! To use -san, you simply put it behind someones last name, however once you get a little bit more familiar, it is fine to use it with the first name as well. So, for example, Löwenhardt-san or Hannah-san are both fine. 

3. Try to avoid sarcasm
This is really something I experienced first-hand. I'm used to being sarcastic since it's quite a common practice in the Netherlands, however in Japan being sarcastic can totally be taken the wrong way. Japanese friends please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there is not such a thing as sarcasm in Japanese language. Therefore really be careful with making sarcastic jokes for example. I have offended people in this way because they took it seriously, which really wasn't my intention. Luckily I was able to explain it, but it's better to avoid these situations in any case. 

Onsen etiquette

1. Always wash yourself properly
The most important things when visiting an onsen is to really really wash yourself before going in. These bath houses are kept as clean as possible, by the owners and the visitors. When you go into a bath house, it is obligatory I would say to first spend some time washing yourself. Not just 2 or 3 minutes, but really for at least 5-10 minutes. Wash every part of your body and if you have long hair, tie it up. It is perfectly normal to bring soap, towels, shampoo, a toothbrush or other things with you to clean yourself. 

2. Be aware of the rules for tattoos
Tattoos are still a taboo in Japan unfortunately, do to their association with the Yakuza (Japanese maffia). Onsen are one of the most traditional places and I think especially because of that and because of the nakedness still very strict in their tattoo rules. Nowadays there are some onsen which you can enter with tattoos, however, be aware that in most you can't so you'll probably have to ask or read the signs before going in to avoid any uncomfortable situations. 

3. Go in naked
Yes, just do it! It's an onsen, and the best way to experience this, and probably even the only way, is to go in naked! Nothing to worry about, the (wo)men there are used to being there and seeing each other naked. It maybe takes some time to get used to, but just focus on the bath and on being there, not on possible thoughts in your head. Going in with bathing clothes really doesn't happen, maybe at some very big 'onsen' or spa houses, but there you won't get the proper traditional experience.

Well, these are in my opinion and my friend Yusuke's (see picture below!) opinion the most important things you should no when visiting Japan. Don't stress, however, people are super nice and friendly and if you do make a little mistake you always have you foreign looks to make up for them so you will be forgiven!

Cheers, 
Hannah