Japan
Japan may be the country that takes the seasons most seriously in the world, changing its outfit five times a year: in March the cherry-blossom front pushes from south to north, and hanami becomes the entire nation's schedule; in June's rainy season, hydrangeas and moss temples are at their most lush; high summer belongs to festivals and fireworks — yukata, food stalls (yatai), and evening breezes along the riverbanks; in autumn the foliage front travels back south, arriving together with hot springs and Pacific saury; in winter, Hokkaido's powder snow, snow-country trains, and snow-viewing sake in an open-air bath turn the cold into pleasure. "Season-limited" (kikan gentei) goods are not merely marketing — they are the collective body clock of a whole nation.
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