春到来@札幌
*English translation below
こんにちは、札幌スタッフＷです。
暖かくなってきましたね。札幌も桜や梅の時期になりました。
やっと春到来です。
毎年の事ではありますが、北海道の冬は長いですね。
11月には雪が降り出し3月までは冬の寒さが続くので、5ヵ月くらいは冬の感覚です。
東京で「桜が…」というニュースが流れる頃、札幌ではまだ冬真っ盛りなんですね。
ところで、普通は桜より先に梅が咲くらしいのですが、札幌では桜の後に梅が咲きます。
同じような時期に両方咲く事もありますが、桜の後に梅という順番で咲くようです。
桜と言えば花見。
花見と言えば宴会？らしいのですが、自分の周囲ではあまり宴会の風習は無く、あくまで花を見て楽しむ、花を観賞するのが花見でした。
宴会も結構なのですが、せっかく年に一度の短い期間の花なので、その花の方もしっかり見て欲しいですね。
ともかく、雪に閉じ込められていた北海道もこれからどんどん暖かくなり、アウトドアのシーズンになります。
様々な花や自然を楽しめるのが北海道の良いところなので、普段はインドアな自分も、アクティブな気分になってきますね（実際にアクティブに動くかは別として、せめて気分だけでも…）。
（Ｗ）
Spring has arrived in Sapporo
Hello, this is W. I work with our staff in Sapporo.
Well, the weather has started to warm up and the time has come for cherry blossoms and plum blossoms in Sapporo.
It looks like spring has finally arrived.
Our winters here in Hokkaido are long, which is true for every year that goes by.
The snow comes in during November and the cold winter weather continues on until March, so for about 5 months straight, it feels like winter.
This means that when it gets to be around that time in Tokyo when you hear all the news reports about cherry blossoms, Sapporo is still right in the midst of the winter season.
By the way, plum blossoms usually bloom before the cherry blossoms, but in Sapporo it seems to be the other way around: The plum blossoms bloom after the cherry blossoms here.
In some cases they both bloom around the same time, but it looks like for the most part that the normal order here is for the plum blossoms to follow the cherry blossoms.
Cherry blossoms go hand in hand with “hanami” (a springtime tradition that celebrates flower viewing).
From there, you might say that hanami then goes hand in hand with parties and banquets. But when it comes to myself and those around me, there isn’t much of a custom or routine to get together for these springtime parties. So, hanami for me was just the simple joy of viewing and appreciating flowers.
Springtime banquets and parties are awesome too, of course. But, the flowers only bloom once a year and they don’t last long, so it’s good to really enjoy the view while you can.
Anyway, it’s going to be warming up more and more here in Hokkaido after a winter spent locked away in snowy weather, which means the best time to be outdoors is on its way.
Hokkaido offers lots of different flowers and natural landscapes to enjoy, so even for a person like me who likes to stay indoors, it makes me feel like I wanna go out and do something. (Now, whether or not I’ll actually do something active is another matter altogether. But, at least the feeling is there…)
(W)
