Mar 26, 2014

Outgoing Mail/お手紙発送

I would say that the most beloved flowers in Japan is cherry blossoms.  At this time of the year, the weather forecast closely follow so-called "cherry blossom front" in their "cherry blossom forecast" and tells you when the cherry blossoms in your area come out.  The cherry blossoms start opening in the southern islands of Okinawa as early as January while on the northern islands of Hokkaido they open as late as May.  What about in between?  Well, the Meteorological Agency announced that cherry blossoms in Tokyo opened on March 25th this year.
 
Why is this time of the bloom so important?  Well, it's because we don't want to miss the right time for hanami or picnic under cherry trees to welcome the arrival of the spring and enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossoms.  The cherry blossom season is short - usually about one week after the opening of the first blossoms, they reach their full bloom, and another week later they start falling from the trees, so once the cherry blossoms open in their area, people start planning hanami with family or friends.  There are many nice hanami spots in Tokyo, and I've already picked some places I want to visit this year.  I'm pretty excited!! :)
 
This picture shows how it looks like when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.  It was taken at a park a couple of years ago.  Like a tunnel of cherry blossoms, right? :)
Around this time of the year, my penpals usually receive a postcard or pictures of cherry blossoms from me.  Here are some of my outgoing letters this week.  This one is flying to the US with a postcard of cherry blossom. :)
Do you like the cat stamps? :)
This letter is for my pal in UK.
My drawing matches to the stamp on the envelope. :)
And the back side of the postcard.
I hope my letter will bring a smile to my penpals. :)  Has the spring arrived where you live?

東京の桜の開花宣言は昨日でしたが、まだ通勤途中で見かける桜の木には、花が咲いていません。今週末にはもう少し咲いてくれるかな。楽しみ楽しみ☆ところで、日本人って桜が大好きですよね。以前、外国人の友達に『なんで「お花見」っていうと、みんな桜だと思うの?花を見るって書くんだから、他の花でもいいんじゃないの?』と聞かれて困ったことが(^^;私の答えは『長く日本に住めば、きっとその理由が分かるよ。』でした。それが理由か分かりませんが、その友人は日本で就職が決まりました(^^)写真は数年前に東京の上野公園で撮った写真です。いや~、花見客でごった返していました。でもすごく綺麗で楽しめました。

この時期、ペンパルには桜のポストカードや写真を送ることが多いです。とっても喜ばれます☆

↓いつもありがとうございます。押していただけると励みになります☆

12 comments:

  1. I used to live in a region with a lot of almond trees, and this was one of my favourite times of the year. They don't sell postcards (because we haven't the "hanami" tradition), so I made my own postcards with pictures and sent it to my friends. Our almond trees aren't so bigger, but still really really beautiful :D

    I love your drawn envelope, what a good idea!

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    1. I don't think I've ever seen almond trees. What do they look like? Do they have flowers? Wow, I think making your own postcard with pictures is a super cool idea! You have all the great mail ideas, Hawwa! :D

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    2. Unluckily I haven't any of these postcards left. You can easily look at them on the Internet. These are on my region:
      https://www.google.com/search?q=ametllers+florits+castell%C3%B3&espv=210&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=fEY1U8X9AsqO0AWjiIDwBw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&biw=1024&bih=475

      Aren't they beautiful?

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    3. Wow! They're SO beautiful! I like how closely you can look at them!! I didn't expect almond trees have kind kind of pink flowers. For some reason, I thought they were white. I have no idea where I got that image from though! lol Thanks a lot for sharing the link with me!!! :D

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  2. Oh, those cat stamps are soooooo cute! I also love the rose stamp and... ok, I love them all, haha.

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    1. Lately I'm into collecting stamps (to use) and make the envelope match to the stamps or use the stamps for a theme. It's pretty fun! :)

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  3. Waaaa the kitty stamps and the postcards! >7< *explodes*

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    1. I found some other animal stamps so will use them soon. :) These kitty stamps are one of my favorites now!

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  4. The cherry blossom cards are gorgeous! :D I really love the hanami and sakura pictures that flood the internet every spring which is why I've started to ask for cherry blossom postcard swaps :) Especially since we don't really have anything like that in Finland and our spring usually takes until the late April to really start (though it's rather early this year and we've already gotten rid of the snow in Southern Finland).
    And how gosh the cat stamps are adorable! >3<

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    1. I remember the spring came very late (for me) when I was living in Canada, but because people there wait for spring so long after a long snowy winter, the spring was so special and super exciting. :) I love spring esp. when the winter was longer or colder. And you?

      And yes I agree. Cat stamps are adorable! :D

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  5. Hi! I just discovered your blog and like it a lot! Will add you to my blogroll. :)

    My mother dreams about visiting Japan during the "cherry blossom season". And my little sister studies your language, so maybe mom will have her chance once my sister will have her exchange student year. :)

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    1. Thanks! And I'm following your blog! :)

      Wow, that's great that your sister studies my language. :) How long has she been studying Japanese? Learning English is like a never ending story for me. One of my dreams is to understand a joke in English without having a blank pause in my mind. :D

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