Portland Hanami 2000
Japanese American Historical Plaza
Portland, Oregon, USA

SPRING IN PORTLAND announces itself in mid-March with a burst of pink from flowering cherry trees. Clear days start to outnumber the cloudy ones. When the sun is out, Portlanders flock downtown to Tom McCall Waterfront Park, a converted expressway on the west bank of the Willamette River. One of the best places for hanami (Japanese for "flower viewing") is the north end of the park, between the Burnside Bridge and the Steel Bridge. (RIGHT: South view from Steel Bridge)

The riverside walkway (LEFT) affords a superb view of the delicate blossoms of one hundred ornamental cherry trees. Of those who walk, run, bike, skateboard or rollerblade by, how many think to ask, "What is on the other side of the trees?"

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