Tourists and Japanese locals marvelled at Tokyo’s cherry trees earlier this week at the peak of the annual blossom season. Traditionally, the season represents fresh starts, and also life’s fleeting impermanence.
Crowds flocked to the city’s top locations to take photos and hold picnics under the elegant dark branches bursting with pink and white flowers, known as sakura in Japanese.
“Honestly it feels pretty amazing to be here. It’s honestly better than we expected. And it only comes around every once in a while and only for a short span of time,” said Christian Sioting, a tourist from the Philippines.
“It’s an ephemeral experience and we’re pretty happy that we got to be here and to witness it in full bloom too.”
The Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) recently declared the country’s most common and popular “somei yoshino” variety of cherry tree in full bloom in Tokyo.
Although this year’s blooming dates are around the average, the JMA says climate change and the urban heat-island effect are causing the sakura to flower approximately 1.2 days earlier every 10 years.
“Seeing photos is one thing, but being here, (to) really see the sakura with your own eyes ... it’s really amazing,” said Ralf Ng from Hong Kong.
A weak yen is attracting more visitors than ever to Japan, with national tourism figures released in January showing a record of 36.8 million arrivals last year.
Tokyo resident Kayoko Yoshihara, 69, organises annual flower-viewing picnics with her friends, including one held recently as the cherry trees began to bloom.
“After enduring the cold winter, the cherry blossoms bloom and it makes you feel like you’re motivated to head towards summer,” she said.
Nurse Nanami Kobayashi, 31, said the peak of the blossom season left her without words.
“When the trees are at full bloom, it’s so beautiful that you just become speechless,” she said. – AFP
