さくら！Sakura

Through talking to some of the people here, I've learnt alot about the Japanese system of education and what lies in store after school finishes. Taking Yuma's school for example, the students attend school 5 days a week with a half day on Saturday. English and Mathematics are cumpolsory (and I swear the Maths is three years ahead of senior Maths in Aus). Sport clubs are run every afternoon when school finishes at around 4pm and continue through any given holiday. For some reason or another, block exams take a similar path, being held smack-bang in the middle of the holiday. What a pain. Once a student finishes school however, to be accepted into a University, one has to take and pass a written exam composed of Mathematics and English (reading comprehension and listening). If the student passes, great, off to uni, but if not, that student is expected to attend a type of Math/English tutorial lesson three times a week until the next uni entrance exam held in the following year. I don't know why things are like this here, but if you're born into a Japanese family and Maths or English isn't your thing, you've really lucked out..

Since I've been in Japan and despite the fun I'm having, I've seen alot of dull faces during the day, typically mounted on the shoulders of a man in a suit who works 6 days a week struggling to climb the corporate ladder. It has become clear to me that this is probably due to the pressure each worker has to perform in such a densly populated and highly competitive society. So, for a while I've wondered what these sorts of blokes do to release some steam. On Sunday I found out. They go to a place called Hamadera Park. Only a 10 minute ride from the house, this park acts as a leisure district for working class families on Sunday afternoons. Here, you can set up tents, have a BBQ, open a beer, enjoy live music and kick the footy (and by kick the footy, I mean have a slug of the baseball bat).

What better time to visit than during the end of March when it's slowly but surely starting to warm up and the 'Sakura' or Cherry Blossom trees start to open up. Strolling through the park is quite an experience at this time and is immensly popular. The Japanese even have a word for it. 花見 - hanami - flower viewing.

Although checking out the freshly bloomed Sakura is the highlight, there is no shortage of rose houses, walk-through gardens and the odd patch of whatever these ones below are.

Making the most of my last free day in Osaka, I decided to do as the Japanese were doing and grabbed myself an Asahi and some sushi before finding a nice warm spot under a tree to enjoy it all.