Crayon Shin-chan (クレヨンã—ã‚“ã¡ã‚ƒã‚“, Kureyon Shinchan) is a manga and anime series written by Yoshito Usui. The American version of the manga is titled “Crayon ShinChan” while the UK, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, German, Hindi and American version of the anime is titled Shin-Chan. The series follows the antics of a five year-old boy Shinnosuke Nohara, his parents, neighbours and friends. This story is set in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The show is called “Crayon Shin-chan” because “crayon” signifies the fact that it is a tool commonly used by kindergartners and that Shin-chan goes to kindergarten. “Shin-chan” is the affectionate name for the main character.
Hanami (花見, Hanami, lit. “flower viewing”) is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, “flower” in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms (æ¡œ or æ«», sakura), or ume blossoms (梅, ume). From late March to early April (early May on HokkaidÅ), sakura bloom all over Japan. The blossom forecast (æ¡œå‰ç·š, sakurazensen, lit. cherry blossom front) is announced each year by the weather bureau, and is watched carefully by those planning hanami as the blossoms only last a week. In modern-day Japan, hanami mostly consists of having an outdoor party beneath the sakura during daytime or at night. Hanami at night is called yozakura (lit. “night sakura”). In many places such as Ueno Park temporary paper lanterns are hung for the purpose of yozakura.