Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Returns!

For two weekends in a row, April 9-10 and 16-17, San Francisco Japantown has hosted the 2022 Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival. The small community of Japantown saw flocks of San Franciscans and even some tourists fill Post Street to see various aspects of Japanese culture. Many attendees came dressed in casual clothes. Others wore traditional Japanese kimonos, and some even decked out in cosplay of well-known anime characters. Vendors of local small businesses sold their products and services, with a majority of them being tailored to Japanese culture; ranging from Japanese clothing, and bamboo plants, to origami workshops. Some vendors would offer free Sake samples to the public served in traditional style along with having a dance line on occasion. The Japan Center Mall saw many people coming to shop at the unique Japanese stores with products only found there, with lines for the famous mochi doughnuts stretching around the mall's hallway. With the performance stage being located in the Japanese Peace Plaza, various organizations and speakers came up to show the people of San Francisco more of the Japanese culture such as Karate groups giving demonstrations, schools with strong ties to the Japanese community, and dance groups showing a dance performance. The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival was put on hold for two years due to the global pandemic. The event was primarily held outdoors and spanned over a course of two weekends. The purpose of the festival is to showcase the rich culture of Japan and the heritage it shares with the Japanese-American Community.