Cherry blossom picnic

Well, I did end up having a nice picnic over the weekend, but it occurred to me afterwards that I should have set up under one of the many gorgeous blossoms that are around at the moment. It is a quintessential tradition in Japan, where it is known as hanami or 'flower viewing'

I was amazed that the weather reports in Japan all feature cherry blossom maps to show the progress of the blossoms creeping their way up from the warm south to the cool north.

Typically, you would take a bento box full of seasonal foods and drink sake. Although I can't see much food in it, I loved the look of this hamper from the suchprettythings blog who was celebrating under the blossoms in Washington DC.

I loved this cake from weheartit

And then you coudl finish off with a walk along the blossoms. Above is the stunning Philosopher's walk in Kyoto, a series of mini canals lined with blossoms.

Images via fecielo.com, travelpod.com, suchprettythings.typepad.com, weheartit, and panoramio.com