Spring on its way

The weather doesn't feel like it today, but Spring is upon us. In Shibuya, the Sakuragaoka area is getting ready for a festival.iPhoto dataCameraCanon PowerShot G10Focal length8mmAperturef/3.5Shutter1/100sISO80Taken2 Mar 2009, 14:22

The Cerulean Tower are putting on a display of Hinamatsuri, Doll's Festival, which is held every year across the country on March 3rd.
Here are some links to Hinamatsuri:
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/calendar/march/hinamatsuri.html
http://farstrider.net/Japan/Festivals/HinaMatsuri/
http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa022501a.htm
iPhoto dataCameraCanon PowerShot G10Focal length8mmAperturef/3.2Shutter1/80sISO200Taken2 Mar 2009, 14:30

Here are some children singing the HinaMatsuri song:

and a video of the Hina Matsuri at Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto:

and lastly Starbucks getting in on the act with their own promotion for Spring:
iPhoto dataCameraCanon PowerShot G10Focal length12mmAperturef/3.5Shutter1/13sISO200Taken2 Mar 2009, 14:29