Mother Nature

I love nature. Most, if not all of my sojourns around the world have included some element of nature (hiking, volcanoes, hot springs, glaciers, deserts, waterfalls, etc.*).
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So it's been especially nice to have Mother Nature tap me on the shoulder recently and remind me that she is here in Japan in all her splendor. After I first moved here, she welcomed me with several small earthquakes and a typhoon which canceled school for two days, but she's been largely absent since then; until recently. In the past two weeks, we had an amazing lightning storm, three more small to moderate earthquakes, and the blooming of the Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) in all their glory.
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The Sakura are a national spectacle welcomed by blooming forecasts on the news, parties (hanami), and travel all over the country. I thought it was a bit much, but now I have to say that the trees are absolutely beautiful, probably even worthy of all the hype. Last weekend, Yumi and I got out of the apartment for a bit and were able to see some Sakura and some hanami going on and I continue to enjoy them for the remaining days of their 2-week bloom on my way to and from work.
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*Hiking: Muir Woods (California), Monteverde rainforest (Costa Rica), Inca Trail (Peru), El Yunque rainforest (Puerto Rico), Mt. Cook (New Zealand), Routeburn Track (New Zealand), Golan Heights (Israel), Mournes (Northern Ireland), Khao Yai (Thailand), Khao Phanom Bencha National Park (Thailand), Black Cat Track (Papua New Guinea), Delphi (Greece)
Volcanoes: Arenal (Costa Rica), Poas (Costa Rica), Rabaul (Papua New Guinea), Vesuvius (Italy)
Glaciers: Fox (New Zealand), Franz Josef (New Zealand)
Deserts: Joshua Tree (California), Masada/Dead Sea (Israel), Sahara (Morocco)
Waterfalls: Niagara Falls (New York/Ontario), Multanomah Falls (Oregon), Ouzoud (Morocco), Khao Yai (Thailand), Ein Gedi (Israel), Milford Sound (New Zealand)
Plus: countless beaches, caves, hot springs, mountains, gardens, forests, sunsets, wildlife, vistas, etc.