Hello Hanami

By Joanne Sasvari | March 16, 2019

A lovely spring night
suddenly vanished while we
viewed cherry blossoms
—Basho Matsuo

The air is filled with pale, fragrant confetti. Anywhere else in Canada, it would be snow that’s falling so lazily from the sky. But on southern Vancouver Island, it’s a shower of flowers, the petals of the cherry and plum trees that wreath neighbourhoods in a pink-and-white bridal veil from March (or earlier!) until May. The blossoming of the cherry trees is unquestionably the Island’s prettiest sign of spring, a floral harbinger of warmer days to come. And if that isn’t cause for celebration, I don’t know what is.

The Japanese would no doubt agree. Since the Nara period (710-794), Japan has celebrated the transient beauty of its national flower, the sakura, with an annual tradition known as hanami. Hanami roughly means “to view the blossoms,” and certainly one can merely stroll and admire the blooms. But what it really means is gathering with friends, families and co-workers to picnic beneath the branches of the flowering trees.

We think that’s a pretty swell idea. Here’s what you need to know to plan your own hanami celebration.

A Place to Picnic

First, you will need to find a spot to enjoy your picnic. In the Greater Victoria region, that should present little problem. Victoria is not only home to some of Canada’s most beautiful public gardens, but hundreds of sakura (cherry) and ume (plum) trees line the city streets. All you need to enjoy them is a sturdy pair of walking shoes, along with the City of Victoria’s Interactive Blossom Map and Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society’s viewing guide.

The first trees to bloom, usually from late February to March, but sometimes as early as January, are the plums, many of them in James Bay.

Next, from late March to April, comes peak season for cherry blossoms. Beacon Hill Park is both a great spot for viewing them and even better for picnicking under their branches. You will find the classic pale pink single-blossomed Yoshino variety here—it’s the most widely planted in the city, thought the darker pink Accolade, Atsumori or Double Pink Higan can be found in some locations as well.

By mid-April, the dramatic, deep-pink double blossoms of the Kanzan cherry appear around Victoria, along with the fluffy white Mt. Fuji in front of the Hotel Grand Pacific, double-white wild cherry opposite MacDonald Park, and pale pink Amanogawa in Quadra Village. The last to bloom is the pale pink double-blossomed White Goddess that brightens the grounds of James Bay’s Irving Park into May.

Hanami Food Choices

Once you have a destination, you’ll need to decide what to serve. Take inspiration from Japan, where special hanami dishes tend to be light, fresh and the pink or green hues of cherry blossoms. Sometimes they are actually made with cherry blossoms, which have a delicate flavour that is more fruity than floral. Both the blossoms and leaves are ground into powder, pickled and/or salted; the blossoms are also made into jam, jelly or paste.

Traditional hanami picnics feature grilled foods and sushi, especially easy-to-make varieties like chirashi or temari (respectively, bowls or balls of rice topped with fish and vegetables). If you prefer not to make your own sushi, you can always order a takeout bento box, or opt for western fare like tea sandwiches or salads.

Sweets are also an important part of the picnic, especially mochi, a chewy pastry made from pounded, lightly sweetened sticky rice, sometimes flavoured with sakura or matcha, and filled with red bean paste or pastry cream. Cherry blossom-flavoured cookies, cakes, puddings, jellies and sweet dumplings are also enjoyed during hanami—and so are French sweets, such as macarons and madeleines.

In BC, the chocolatier Purdy’s produces a special seasonal sweet, the Sake & Sakura Chocolate Truffle, a floral white chocolate ganache that is flavoured with sake from Granville Island and robed in a dark chocolate shell. In Victoria, Tout de Sweet Confections sells a Sakura chocolate bar that is 70 percent fair trade dark chocolate, flavoured with ginger and cherries.

Aside from tea, sake is the most traditional of Japanese beverages, a fermented rice wine that has been produced since the third century. There are several varieties, most of which are best enjoyed chilled and have delicately complex fruity, floral and nutty notes. (A good place to sample is E:Né Raw Food Sake Bar, which offers the biggest sake selection in Canada.)

Sake works well in cocktails, too, as does gin, such as Sheringham Distillery’s Japanese-inspired Kazuki, which is infused with botanicals of yuzu peel, cherry blossoms and green tea from Cowichan Valley’s Westholme Tea Farm. Try it in a martini or lengthened with soda.

Then again, drinking alcoholic beverages in public parks tends to be frowned upon, so perhaps it’s best to stick with tea. Silk Road Tea produces a Sour Cherry Green Tea made with sakura cherry essence and sencha. Enjoy it hot, chilled over ice, or mixed into lemonade or a cocktail.

How many, many things
They call to mind
These cherry-blossoms!
—Basho Matsuo

Other Ways to Celebrate

A picnic under the cherry trees is the traditional way to celebrate hanami, but it’s not the only one.

If you prefer to take your tea indoors, both the Fairmont Empress and Venus Sophia offer special cherry blossom afternoon teas this spring. From March 1 to April 14, Venus Sophia’s dainty pink-and-green tea party features Japanese-inspired sweets and savouries along with rose-and-cherry-flavoured Cherry Blossom Tea.

Meanwhile, Magnolia Hotel & Spa offers Bikes, Blooms & Brews, a curated journey map to the best places to experience the floral season, with stops for a pint along the way. The map is included in Magnolia’s new Bed, Bubbles & Bath romance package, available until March 31.

Whatever you do this spring, take a moment to pause, reflect and celebrate the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossom while you can.

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