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Spring is the time when the cherry blossoms bloom. On March 3 the weather centres in Osaka and Fukuoka issued the first 'cherry blossom' forecast for Western Japan, including the Chugoku region. Kochi in Shikoku will be the first prefecture to see the blossoms, with the first blooms appearing as early as March 22. The 'cherry blossom' front will then move northwards and the blossoms are expected to appear in the cities of Shimonoseki and Takamatsu on March 28 and in Hiroshima and Okayama on March 29. The northern parts of the Chugoku region will have to wait a few more days, but Hamada and Matsue, on the Japan Sea coast, will also see the first blossoms early, on March 27 and March 28, respectively.
Since the temperatures for March and April are expected to be higher than average, the cherry blossoms will appear a few days earlier than usual. They will be four days early in Matsue, three days early in Okayama and two days early in Hiroshima. The dates given by the weather centres are when the first blooms will appear. It will take a week or so for the trees to come into full bloom. Since the timing of many hundreds of ohanami or 'cherry blossom viewing parties' is at stake, the weather centres will issue a second forecast on March 18.
Spring is also the time when hopeful high school students take their university entrance examinations. Public universities held the first series of entrance tests on February 25. At the four public universities in Hiroshima Prefecture, a total of 7,034 applicants took the tests. In this period of economic hardship and difficult employment prospects, many students were applying to public universities because the fees were lower. The ratio of applicants to places varied from institution to institution. At Shobara, the home of Hiroshima Prefectural University, 711 applicants were competing for 100 available places, making this university the hardest to enter among the 12 institutions in the Chugoku region. One applicant admitted that she had gained a place at a private university, but thought that graduating from a public university would improve her chances of finding a job after graduation.
The Innoshima Ohashi, one of the bridges on the Setouchi Shimanami Kaido connecting the Japanese mainland with Shikoku, was host to its 30 millionth car on February 24. The driver, and those of the following 1,000 vehicles, were presented with souvenir gifts.
かき傳 Kakiden is the name of a restaurant in Hikari-machi, the district in Higashi-ku adjacent to the Shinkansen side of Hiroshima Station. The restaurant specialises in seasonal local cuisine, especially fish and seafood. So, for example, oysters figure prominently on the menu in winter and this gives the restaurant its 'traditional' name. There are 12 types of oyster dishes available. At present a popular dish is a mixture of spring vegetables and shellfish seasoned with vinegar (\900). There is also a daily set menu. (082-264-5968) |
「春の儀式１」
春は桜が咲く季節。３月３日、大阪と福岡の気象台は、中国地方を含む西日本の桜の開花予想を発表した。四国の高知県が最も早い県とされ、３月22日には開花するという。桜前線は北上し、下関と高松では３月28日に、広島と岡山では３月29日に咲くと予想されている。中国地方の北部では、それより数日待たなくてはならないが、日本海側の浜田や松江では開花は早く、３月の27、28日とみられている。
３月と４月の気温は平年よりも高いと予想されているので、開花はいつもより数日早くみられるだろう。松江では４日、岡山では３日、広島では２日早いだろう。気象台の予想は最初の開花の日付けを指している。そのため、満開はそれから１週間前後になるだろう。多くのお花見の宴会の時期に関わるため、気象台では２回目の予報を３月18日にも出す予定。
「春の儀式２」
春はまた、望みをかけた高校生が大学受験に挑む時期でもある。国公立大学の前期試験が２月25日にあった。広島県の４つの国公立大学では、全部で７０３４人が受験した。この不景気と雇用の見通しが悪い中、多くの高校生が授業料が安いということで受験した。受験倍率は大学ごとに違っている。広島県立大学のある庄原では、７１１人の受験生が１００人の定員に挑み、中国地方12の大学のなかで、最も高倍率となった。ある女子受験生は、私立の大学にすでに合格しているが、国公立大学を卒業したほうが、就職に有利だと言っていた。
「橋を渡ったたくさんの車」
本州と四国を結ぶ瀬戸内しまなみ海道の橋の１つ、因島大橋を２月24日、３０００万台目の車が通った。その運転手とそれに続く１０００台の車にも、記念品が贈られた。