Fun time out: People picnicking under cherry trees in a park in Tokyo. — Reuters
Mito: Japan’s cherry blossom season kicks off boozy parties across the country and draws tourists from far and wide, but the annual coming-of-spring ritual isn’t official until inspectors like Hisato Nishii sign off on it.
Over the past few weeks, local weather offices have been sending civil servants like Nishii out to so-called barometer trees that signal when sakura – cherry blossom in Japanese – have bloomed.
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