Sakura Matsuri

Sakura Matsuri - loosely translated, is 'Cherry blossom festival'. Matsuri being a solemn festival celebrated periodically at Shinto shrines in Japan.

So, there is a ‘Sakura Festival’ at the Flower Dome at the Gardens by the Bay. I went to have a look as I have never seen Cherry blossoms in bloom in real life.

Hanami Experience
Hanami (especially in Japan) is the practice or custom of viewing cherry blossoms when they are in full bloom. People go for picnics, sat under the cherry blossoms and bath in the beauty of the cherry blossoms while sipping Sakura Sake, and Sakura flavoured snacks and green tea.

For a fee, you can experience the whole package of ‘Hanami Experience’ at the Flower Dome.

There’s our Minister for National Development arriving to grace the occasion.

The crowd waiting patiently for the performances to begin. There was a dance, about a battle (as far as I can make out), a drums performance, and some pop singers singing, probably, about Spring. They were in Japanese.

Here are some shots of the Cherry blossoms.

This is what the sign says, in case it is not clear in the picture:

Cherry blossoms refer to the flowers of several trees from the genus Prunus. Said to be native to the Himalayas, they are speculated to have immigrated to Japan several thousand years ago and spread throughout the country prior to the prehistoric age. They are now widely distributed, particularly in the temperate region of the Northern Hemisphere.

A genus of about 400 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs and trees, Prunus belongs to the Rose family (Rosaceae), and includes cherries, plums, peachers, nectarines, apricots and almonds. Cultivated mostly as ornamentals and for fruit, they bear fleshy drupes, each containing a single hard-coated see called a ‘Stone’.