Here's what the sakura trees down in Waterfront Park looked like a little over a week ago...

I'm sure they've since moved past their fleeting super-cute-and-pink stage and have packed away their "enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life" until next year. Still, those blossoms sure were purty while they lasted.

I passed through the park on St. Patrick's Day and the trees were in full bloom, operating at maximum cherry blossom power. If they had been sitting somewhere in Japan instead of Portland, there's a good chance there wouldn't have been an open spot to sit under them. From what the internet and globe-trotting colleagues tell me, the Japanese go nuts over these trees' annual, one-week-only display. The ensuing celebrations reportedly fall somewhere between a picnic, mass pandemonium and Cinco de Mayo.

While I was in Waterfront Park I didn't spot anyone chugging saki between bites of sakura mochi. This guy seemed into the whole thing though...

Labels: Portland, trees