Sakura in Japan (and Animal Crossing!)

People in Japan seem to love limited edition and seasonal things. They seem to embrace the moment and celebrate it. Even before I moved to Japan, my favorite week and a half in Animal Crossing was definitely when the cherry blossoms bloom! All of the hardwood trees, probably what most of us deem "regular" trees, bloom for the first 10 days of April in game!

Now that I live in Japan, I can understand  the extent of how prevalent sakura (cherry trees) are here.  They are everywhere!!! We have several trees at our local (across the street from our house) park.  Even the tiniest park I know has its own tree! 

Japanese people take the time to appreciate the moment. Visiting parks to view the sakura is a thing! There is even a name for it, ohanami, which means flower viewing.  Having a picnic under the blossoms can also be included.  Playing games such as badminton and drinking can also be a part of it.   

I didn't get very good pictures, but here is one of people walking by our picnic site this weekend.  You can see smaller groups on the side.  

In the next two shots, I was trying to take pictures of the crowds.  It was INSANE! Since things are finally opening up again, it seems that everyone is ready to go and socialize! There were so many people and food trucks in this park!

Here's where Animal Crossing comes in.  I decided to take pictures in my Lolita (Victorian/baby doll) dress that I got in Harajuku (Tokyo). I have always been a girly girl, but not too many people probably know it because it's not practical to always be dressed girly.  It's also a lot of work! I went through a period in elementary school where I only wanted to wear dresses. After Philip took my pictures, I remembered that they had a Lolita dress in Animal Crossing and so I decided to recreate my pictures in game!   

In game, there is a DIY you can make that is a pile of cherry blossom petals.

I didn't know before coming here that is a real thing! This happened naturally in my neighborhood.  

When the petals begin to fall, they truly do get blown by the wind.  I have been in parks where it is almost like a blizzard and so magical.  This video shows one of the piles blowing around in my neighborhood.  

What do you think? Would you like to visit Japan during sakura season?  

Valentines Day in Japan

Happy Valentines Day from Japan!!!! Like most countries, Japan's looking for a reason to celebrate and spend money.  Valentines Day is no exception.  Interestingly, on Valentines Day, girls are supposed to give chocolates to the boys and then boys give them to the girls on White Day in March.  

These displays showed up in my local grocery store in January. I love how on my of their products (especially food) they have samples shown so you know exactly what you are getting.  

This is a full display.  Each type of chocolate has different size products available to fit any budget. 

They had chocolates available in many different styles.  

I bought Philip one of these Gundam chocolates.  

At a department store near Nagoya station, they held a Valentines Day Chocolate event. This was downstairs advertising it. 

This picture doesn't even do the chaos justice.  It was rows of chocolate makers selling all sorts of chocolates.  Most brands I have never even heard of. 

This one was one of the most amusing sellers.  Beetle, as in Volkswagon Beetle! They were selling VW Bug shaped chocolates!

I liked this one and thought of one of my good friends who loves green and camo.  

I'm a big Animal Crossing fan, as I have mentioned before.  I saw in one of my online groups that Godiva was doing a collaboration with Animal Crossing here in Japan! I couldn't resist going to get some for myself, lol.  Happy Valentines to me! 😂 They had an even bigger, round box of chocolates, but I got this one as it had the bag.  I couldn't justify buying both to myself. Hahaha!

These are the chocolates I bought for G and C. 

Philip likes Gundam, especially building them, so I couldn't resist buying him Gundam chocolates!

Hope you have a great Valentines Day!  Which chocolates were your favorite?

Animal Crossing Connections in Japan

Animal Crossing is made by Nintendo which, of course, is a Japanese company.  I knew some of the items featured were from Japan specifically, but I didn't make the connection on all of them.  

Some of the plants in Animal Crossing I had never seen where I have lived in the States. Olive Tea was one of them, but I found it here in Japan!

I knew the wall mounted air conditioners were common in Japan, but I also have them in each room of my house!

What I didn't know, though, was that there is a tube that goes through the wall and attaches the inside unit to the outdoor air conditioning unit.  This is how it vents, rather than having to have it in a window, like is so common in the States.  

Tom Nook as well as Timmy and Tommy are not raccoons as we know them in the States.  A more accurate description is "raccoon dog," but the Japanese word for these is tanuki.  It's a real animal in Japan and I saw one at one of the zoos I went to.  

Here is the google lens translation. Sometimes they are a bit funky.  This one is especially funky becasue of the furigana, which is the smaller writing (hiragana) about the kanji (Chinese characters). Children in Japan learn to read hiragana and katakana first, so when these are helps for younger people who may not know all of the kanji yet. 

The reflection made it hard to get a good picture.  

The in game item related to the tanuki is the the "raccoon figurine." This may not seem like a significant item to people not in Japan, but THEY ARE EVERYWHERE in Japan.  Tanuki means lucky, so they are a good luck charm. 

These can be seen outside of shrines, businesses and homes here in Japan.  A fun fact that you can't tell from the in game item is those things hanging down between his legs are exactly what you think they are, and ALL the tanuki statues have them.  

We ordered most of our furniture from a catalog provided by the relocation company before we got here.  One option was the "gaming chair," which I didn't make the connection until I saw this item in my Nook's Cranny, but I HAVE THIS CHAIR SITTING IN MY HOME.  

Here it is! No idea what the brand is, so please don't ask. 😆

Parks are found in abundance here.  I believe the main reason is that is the place children are supposed to play, not in your yard where you may disturb others. A big thing in Japan is living so as not to inconvenience others, which is completely different from most people's attitudes in the States. We live across from a park and everyday I hear children laughing and playing, but that is to be expected because we are so close.  

This isn't my local park, but I recognized this as the same shape from Animal Crossing right away!

As mentioned above, parks are everywhere.  I can name where there are probably at least ten different parks that I can walk to.  Every park has a park clock.  I have no idea if this is accurate, but my guess is that they are there so that the children playing, or their parents can easily know when it's time to go home.  

This is one of the things I remember seeing the first day we moved here in our local grocery store.  It's made with white bread, fruit, and lightly sweetened whipped cream.  Everything is lightly sweetened in Japan compared to the States, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  

Let's talk construction.  As I mentioned before, a big part of Japanese culture is living so as not to inconvenience others.  So when there is construction that may inconvenience someone else, they are very apologetic.  We have received notes in our mailbox warning us of upcoming construction, and I have even heard of people in the area of construction receiving snacks as an apology! 

This sign is very similar to an in game item.  The construction worker is bowing in apology.  Even without this sign, it is very common to have someone standing outside that will bow to you as you pass.  When I leave to Japan, I am sure I will still be bowing to everyone and probably get weird looks. 😂

This may be a recurring post as I am sure I will see more things and make more connections!