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Ah, sakura season. You cross a bridge at twilight and pause halfway to see trees heaving with cherry blossoms trailing their branches in the water from beside the riverbank. Breathing in the night air, you quietly take a picture, marvelling at how lucky you were to chance upon such a night view…
Like hell it’s like that! No, it’s all piles of trash and people spreading their blue tarpaulins all over the park and impatient photographers tying to get the best shot.
When I took two of the photos below, I was surrounded by people with all kinds of camera, from basic to pro. Everyone had their finger on the button, waiting for the staff from the boathouse to row out to the centre of the lake and bring in two kids in a pedal-boat who’d lost track of time. You see, just ten minutes before, the entire area in Inokashira Park (Kichijouji) was filled with people riding paddle-powered plastic ducks around.
The minute they got those kids far enough out of the frame, all the cameras went off and we could take home our picture-perfect photo of a quiet lake in Japan, surrounded by sakura.
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The cherry blossom forecasts say that the sakura will be in full bloom on April 3rd (Saturday). You might also enjoy my post on plum blossoms (and cultists), which have already bloomed this year.
Those are very nice pics. Makes me want to go there. It’s funny… Inokashira Park is like 15 minutes from my place and I’ve never been.
You should definitely check it out. It’s a great park with some nice shrines. Just a shame all the duck pedal-boats ruin the view during the daytime!
Thanks for reading!
Pretty nice scene. Posts like this make me realize how little of Tokyo I actually saw when I was living there.
Thanks! I think Inokashira Park is definitely worth a look if you’re staying a while, although perhaps not worth the trip out if you only have a week or so.