2. Experiences in Studying Abroad in Japan Cho youngsun 05951013 South Korea

3. 花 見 Hanami Cherry Blossom Viewing on April 3 rd, the spring of this year, I went to a park to view Cherry Blo- Ssoms with friends and sensei. Of cou- rse that was the first time to do so, since I’ve never been in Japan before. I heard that Ohanami is one of the most popular spring events in Japan. We sat under the fully open cherry blossoms on plastic tarpaulin. That was such a fun picnic with the snack foods, soft drinks and even alcohols. I was really surprised and also sort of happy by drinking alcohols from 2 o’clock afternoon. I didn’t expect to see that people drink alcohols

4. 花 見 Hanami Cherry Blossom Viewing from the very early afternoon in Japan. In the park we went to, there were not only us but also a lot of people who were being with families, friends and couples and they actually did drink alcohol and sing a song. That was something that I’ve had never ex- pected to see. As I studied, in very popular places in Tokyo such as Ueno park and Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo the competition for prime picnic spots is intense. Company groups and family members claim spots by arriving very early in the morning and sitting all day long until the real celebrations begin in the evening. It is not unusual to see a young man in a business suit sitting under a cherry tree early in

5. 花 見 Hanami the morning reserving a space for his com- pany. The new employees are traditionally given this job of sitting all day long to re- serve space for the company celebration. However, what I feel about Hanami cele- bration is quite nice because at least for One day, Japanese people could take their stressful life away from works or tasks and have a fun with people who they like. In korea, we have this event too but the difference is we drink alcohol from evening usually after finish the work or school with families and friends. Some Korean people like to go somewhere different to view cherry blossoms during the weekend but still it is not a very popular event in Korea as much as in Japan and I prefer the Japanese one.