Signs of the Season

1. This morning I read this. Then


2. Phil, his friend Ben, and I rode in a train car in which every single poster was a splash of pink - different views from all over the country. And then


3. Leaving the National Museum in Ueno Park, we saw the following:

Yes, these are camera phone pictures of people taking camera phone pictures of cherry blossoms (occasionally each other too). I have been waiting for this since I got to Japan... not just the cherry blossoms. I mean, they're nice, yes, and I'm very happy to see them (just ask Phil and Ben), and I'm sure it's going to be absolutely *incredible*, but no, what I was really waiting to see was the nationwide enthusiasm for cherry blossoms.

Isn't it nice to live in a country with four seasons?