As a poor tourist like me, a chance to catch Sakura season in fully bloom condition was like a dream come true. My eyes can't blink at all, afraid if I blink then the Sakura will fall out... qqq ... My mouth can only say "WOW!" while agape and hypnotized along the way.
My fingers on auto pilot mode, continuously shooting the camera to all directions, without caring anymore will the picture focused or blurry, don't even care how many of photos has been taken, when the object was in the same shapes and colors ...... let it be.....
Fully bloom Sakura along the river next to Kitanomaru-gyoen, Tokyo
My first trip to catch fully bloom Sakura a few years ago failed miserably, too early, instead of meet Sakura, turned out meet the snow .... it's ok, still can enjoyed beautiful cold soft snow^^The second trip, quite a bit clever, catch early bloom Sakura in Osaka and Kyoto. Satisfied? of course a big NO!.... Most of the Sakura flower still in bud stage, buuuut quite sensational and addictive already.
Early bloom Sakura
After a long journey and several unsuccessful attempts to "catch" the moment of fully bloom Sakura, finally on Spring-2014 I managed to enjoy hanami together with all citizens of Tokyo and Nagoya.
Hanami at Shinjuku-gyoen, Tokyo
Hanami at Ueno-gyoen, Tokyo
Hanami at Tsuruma-gyoen, Nagoya
Hanami at Yamazakigawa River, Nagoya
Is it enough? Satisfied? .... of course not! In fact, it makes my desire bigger to hunt for Sakura again in other places, especially in Sakura paradise, Mount Yoshino. Wishlist!
Fully bloom Sakura
Is it so difficult to catch fully bloom Sakura? Yes, because Sakura flowers in fully bloom conditions only for about 1-2 weeks, every year. Precisely when and where the location is very dependent on the weather, which means almost un-predictable, especially for me, poor tourist who rely on a promo ticket, that must be purchased at least half year ahead ... LOL.
A friend who went to Japan 1 week later said that in Tokyo Sakura flowers are falling already, and leaf buds begin to appear. Only 1 week difference!
Seeing how excited and crowded a Hanami event, a tough crossed in my minds .... 99% of these people were born and raised in Japan. They saw Sakura every year, perhaps also planted Sakura trees at home.... then .... after all these years, why they remain excited and fascinated at the sight of Sakura flowers bloom every spring comes?? The crowd consisted of baby, little kids, cute teens, young people, the office workers in neat suits, adults, and a lot of old people... which means they has been "seeing" Sakura for 60-70-80 years or more .... Not even bored? Not a rare sight seeing some obasan-ojisan (grandma-grandpa) painting Sakura flower in these gardens.
Capturing the beauty of spring
That's one of the Japanese people character that nice to be followed. They living a modern life, but still very appreciative to nature, culture, and traditions. Sakura flower is a symbol and pride of Japanese people, they keep its sustainability. If you observed Sakura trees, on average it has been aged for decades, so they need to put some scantling on the stem to support it. New Sakura trees also planted everywhere. Even in Odaiba, an artificial island of Tokyo which is developed as futuristic region, with all the hi-tech robotics themed building, still a lot of Sakura trees planted along the road and the beach.
Sakura row along the street in front of Fuji TV Building, Odaiba, Tokyo
While in Tokyo, twice times I involved in the super fun talks with two Obasan (grandma) aged around 70 year old, 1 Obasan I met in Ueno park, and 1 more Obasan I met in Kitanomaru-Gyoen. Both Obasan is taking unilateral decisions that I was able to speak Japanese properly, so without any hesitation they involved me in a warm and long conversation. Although I can only catch here and there along the conversation, and only respond with the word "hi" and "kirei" ... but I know for sure that both of them discussed about how beautiful Sakura is, and how much they admire the flowers..... and I am not just amazed at the flowers, but also amazed at both of Obasan.
Two tone Sakura under the rain
Obasan in Ueno park invite me to chat under heavy rain, when I'm photographing the cherry blossoms which have 2 colors on the lids. In hi-spirit she explained that Sakura flowers with two colors like this are very rare. While Obasan in Kitanomaru chat with me while I was in front of the area map. She explained about all around Kitanomaru area, and suggesting all places I should-must be-mandatory go to enjoy the beauty of Sakura. Arigato Obachan ...
Sakura & Castle ...heart & blood of Japan
What a wonderful world...
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