It’s true, I got married in Japan at the exact time when cherry trees are blooming. I adore cherry blossoms! As a little girl, I sat in the treetops of the blooming cherry tree at home and dreamt big dreams.

This is the most beautiful time in Japan, which lasts about 10 days a year and is an important holiday for the Japanese. Parks that were previously closed to the public open, different dishes, desserts, creams, decorations are made from cherry blossoms … people socialize and celebrate in wonderful parks full of blooming Japanese cherry trees.

I like how proud the Japanese are of their culture, how they worship nature, how tolerant they are towards each other, how incredibly clean their cities are even though millions of people live there, how dedicated and precise they are in their work … There are so many things they inspire me with and I myself feel so very close to these things as well. But much like any story has two sides, Japan has its darker side too.

Not only do people there work more than anywhere else, families only see each other during the weekends, most young people never achieve their dreams since they are subjected to strict rules they don’t dare oppose because of a rigid tradition, and I could list more and more.

Traditional Japanese sweetcake with green tea, sweet beans and gold leaf.

It is true that the customs there are very beautiful, that they speak to us about the history of humankind and are like roots of a tree or foundations of a house, but it is also necessary to adapt them to today’s times, otherwise they can become rigid and oppressive.