Spring is in the Air!

I found out on Tuesday that there was yet another national holiday occuring the next day (March 20th), this one marking the spring equinox. which is the midpoint of the week long Japanese celebration of "Higan". It is traditional for Japanese to visit family tombs on this day to polish the plaques and leave offerings. However with snow still on the ground in Hokkaido, this one isn't really observed up here. Still it's a day off work for a lot of people (Nova staff not included).

Spring still seemed pretty distant the next day with the snow and sleet coming down, however on Thursday I walked to work in bright sunshine with an accompaniment of birds twittering away. Was quite odd as the park is still covered in a blanket of snow and wil be for the next month or so. The next thing to look forward to (after Tokyo of course) is hanami - when the cherry blossoms come out. I'm hoping they will come a bit early and hit on my birthday (quite possible as its been an exceptionally warm winter and Tokyo has already bloomed ahead of schedule) - fingers crossed!