#onlinelessons

Today’s featured word is 花見（hanami）which means flower viewing, especially viewing cherry blossoms. Nowadays, Hanami usually includes a picnic packed with Japanese cuisine and, in many cases, alcohol.

This year, Hanami is difficult due to the pandemic, but do you have any good experiences doing Hanami during previous years? Would you like to do Hanami in Japan someday?

Today’s featured word is 満開（mankai）which means full bloom. Technically, this can refer to any sort of flower but is usually used for cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms in Japan are predicted to be in full bloom very soon.

Are there any flowers in full bloom where you live right now? Why not use this opportunity to share a picture and find out what that flower means in Japanese!

Today’s featured word is 花霞（hanagasusmi）which means cherry blossom haze. When the cherry blossom is in full bloom and many trees stand close together, the flowers look like a white-pink mist when looked at from far away.

Today’s featured word is 梅（ume）which means Japanese plum blossom. Plum blossoms bloom long before Sakura in late February and early March. They are less popular, but there are many variants blooming all over Japan right now!

Did you know about all the different types of Valentine’s Day chocolate you can hand out in Japan? If not, then this list will have you covered! Are you giving out any kind of chocolate this weekend?

Today’s featured word is バレンタインデー（barentainde）which means, you might have guessed it, Valentine’s Day! Do you plan on giving chocolate to someone this Sunday?

Need to brush up on some vocab and kanji knowledge? We got you covered with this handy winter vocab cheat-sheet

Today’s featured word is 雪崩（nadare）which means “avalanche”. Japan is a mountainous country and has seen lots of snowfall in the past few weeks, so of course, avalanches can be an issue here. Has it snowed in your country yet?