Lan, tell us about your cultural experiences! April 2023 Issue

On March 25th and 26th, the annual Tokiwadaira Cherry Blossom Festival was held after 4 years. It was the first cherry blossom festival for me since I came to Matsudo City, so I was super looking forward to it.
The cherry blossom festival was held on Tokiwadaira Sakura road which has cherry blossom trees lining approximately 3km along both sides of the road. In 1987, this road was designated as one of the 100 best cherry blossom roads in Japan. It is also a well-known cherry blossom viewing spot in Matsudo city.
On the days of the festival, the temperature suddenly decreased and it rained all day, but the cherry blossom was still in its full blooming without scattering. The Tokiwadaira Sakura road became a pedestrian paradise and was crowded with families...which made me very surprised. The scene of many people holding various colorful umbrellas and walking under the tunnel of cherry blossoms was very beautiful. There were also many stalls selling food, toys, miscellanous goods or for goldfish scooping. Various events were still held in spite of the rain. I was able to watch the performances of kid’s dance and the Samba parade. The passion of all performers made me very impressed.
It was really a cherry blossom festival that was“unbeaten by the rain, unbeaten by the wind” *.
* A famous quote from“Ame ni mo makezu”poem written by Japanese novelist Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933)

3月25日と26日に4年ぶりに常盤平さくらまつりが行われました。私にとっては松戸市に来てから初めてのさくらまつりだったので、すごく楽しみにしていました。
さくらまつりは桜並木が約3kmに続く常盤平さくら通りで行われました。常盤平さくら通りは1987年に「日本の道100選」にも指定されていて、松戸市で有名な花見スポットです。
当日は気温が急に低くなって、雨も降りましたが、桜はあまり散らずに美しく咲き誇っていました。歩行者天国になったさくら通りは家族連れなどで賑わっていて、びっくりしました。たくさんの人がカラフルな傘をさしながら、桜のトンネルの下を歩いている光景はとても綺麗でした。飲食、おもちゃ、雑貨、金魚すくいなどの屋台もたくさん出店していました。雨天にもかかわらず、様々なイベントが行われ、私はキッズダンスやサンバパレードの披露を観賞することができました。演奏者の皆さんの熱に感心しました。
まさに「雨にも負けず、風にも負けず」*のさくらまつりでした。
*作家　宮沢賢治（1896－1933）の名言