Welcome to The Avocado’s weekly discussion of Japanese pop culture! Spring is here! Or, at least, the Spring Equinox is here…for part of the world. Okay, so it’s not exactly Spring everywhere, and it might not even feel like Spring right now (including where I live), but it is that wonderful time of the year when the season starts to change. I’ve mentioned this before, but I think it can be very meaningful to take time to recognize and appreciate when the seasons change. This is probably from years of living in a place where there was very little seasonal variety, but I really appreciate when the snow melts and Spring reveals itself. And when the trees turn green seemingly overnight. Or when the leaves start to change color and fall to the ground. And when that first snow covers everything and the ice sparkles on the trees. These seasonal changes are also celebrated in Japan, and right now one of the biggest markers of the new season will be the blooming of cherry blossom trees, and the outdoor activities to take in their beauty. I’ve written before about the hanami tradition and how you can celebrate this in your own way, so if you’d like to learn more about this, or you’re looking for some recipes (including my slightly hilarious attempt to make dango), click here! And if you need a little boost to brighten your day, enjoy this Spring-worthy song I like by miwa, “Bloom”:

Whatever season it is where you live, I hope there’s something about the nature surrounding you that you can find beauty in today. It’s rather gloomy and bit a rainy outside my window, and there’s some not-exactly beautiful partially melted snow piled up in corners all around the city, but there are also more birds singing outside, and there are squirrels digging around in our front yard and chasing each other in the trees. These small, slow changes are kind of amazing, in their own way.

Anyway…

What have you been watching/reading/playing/eating/listening to lately?

Happy Wednesday! 🙂