Cherry blossoms mark start of spring

As soon as Japan's streets and parks are covered in pink blossoms, families and friends come together for "hanami" flower-viewing parties, picnicking under blossoming trees and admiring the pink splendor. Hanami marks the beginning of spring and symbolizes new beginnings and beauty. Admirers come to take in the blossoms even in the rain, like here by the Shakujii River in Tokyo.

Just let yourself drift: When the trees in Tokyo are in full bloom, a trip on a rowboat is a popular activity. In Tokyo's Chidorigafuchi Park, you can take a boat for a spin down one of the canals around the Imperial Palace. During hanami, the boat rentals are open into the evening hours.

Cherry blossom season is celebrated in many parts of Asia. On the vast tea plantations of Baishan, a village in eastern China, tourists can enjoy the view of the blossoming trees. You have to be a bit lucky to experience the blossoms in all their glory: cherry trees only bloom for around 10 to 14 days.

Celebrating cherry blossom season is very popular among Europeans as well. In his pale pink sweater, this gentleman admiring the blossoms near Turin, Italy, blends in perfectly.

Cherry trees in the Northern Hemisphere usually blossom between the end of March and the beginning of April. However, it's difficult to predict the exact timing, as it depends on the weather and the variety of the tree. One thing is certain: When the first blossoms open, the power of winter has been broken — and bees are happy about the food supply.

Whether in the West or the East, blossoming cherry trees have become a popular selfie backdrop for social media posts. This woman captured the ephemeral splendor in Berlin.

In Washington, D.C., visitors throng the Tidal Basin. Almost 3,700 cherry trees blossom in the US capital every spring; the event is celebrated with the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The oldest trees were donated to the city in 1912 by the then-mayor of Tokyo, Yukio Ozaki. They were intended to symbolize the growing friendship between the US and Japan.

This woman is enjoying the pink blossoms in the old town of Bonn, Germany. Every year, the cherry blossom season attracts thousands of people from all over the world to the former German capital. To make space for everyone coming to witness the spectacle, the main cherry thoroughfares are closed to traffic. This year, the first blossoms opened at the end of March.

In Berlin, of course, things get a little bit more extravagant: a cosplayer dressed as a pink cat of prey poses under blossoming cherry trees in the Gardens of the World. The hanami festival marks the start of the outdoor and events season in the German capital's park.