Chasing Cherry Blossom Front in Japan

Viewing cherry blossoms in Japan has been on Ellen’s bucket list ever since she visited Tokyo in 2016.  Ellen promptly put together a 2-week trip plan after I said I could join her.

To get reasonably priced ticket, I had to fly two days earlier than the planned date.  This worked in my favour as the cherry blossom season started 4-day earlier than forecast.

March 29:  Tokyo

It was a 1Km walk to the hostel Khaosan Tokyo Origami from the Asakusa train station, where I got off the airport train.  My phone is quickly running out of juice, yet Google Map is the only means to guide me to the hostel, not to mention free Wi-Fi is not only hard to come by, they are unreliable.  My frustration turned into excitement as soon as I pass Kaminarimon.

March 30: Ueno Park and Chidorigafuchi, Tokyo

Ueno Park is one of the best cherry blossom locations in Tokyo.  The empty early morning street left me with a wrong impression that Tokyo is not as busy as I’d expected.

Chidorigafuchi Park is the area around a moat of the Imperial Palace known for its splendid cherry blossoms.

March 31: Sensoji and Meguro River, Tokyo

The Five-Story Pagoda at Sensoji looks fabulous in the early morning light.  The cherry tree in full blossom in the foreground makes it a nice establish shot.

This spot has lots of potential.  Maybe I could get a National Geographic style photo.

Too bad, the shadows of my tripod and myself are in the frame.  I moved to the left to hide myself in the shadow and waited for the decisive moment.

Pretty happy with the above shot.  Time to move on as the light is becoming too harsh and starts causing some highlight blown out.

It took approximately an hour from Sensoji to Naka-Meguro by public transportation. Cross the street of Yamate Dori and continue walking for 100 meters, I was blown away by the miles long cherry blossoms along the banks of the Meguro River.

The blossom petals fallen on the stones in the river caught my attention.

In the next hour, I attempted to capture the beautiful traces of flowing petals resorting to long exposure.

In some portions of the Meguro River, view is completely blocked by cherry blossoms.

 

April 1st: Hiroshima

The two-week Japan Rail Pass though costly is a big money saver.  Be sure to purchase the pass before arriving leaving your country.  It is not available in Japan!

It took us about 6 hours to get to Hiroshima Station from Tokyo by Shinkansen (bullet train).  After dropping off the luggage in the hotel, off we went to the Hiroshima Castle.  Cherry blossoms are peaking at Hiroshima!

Disappointing that the Castle was under construction.  Didn’t get any good photo of the castle.

On the way to A-bomb Dome, we walked through the lovely Central Park.  Many young people were having their Hanami (flower viewing) party by the small river.

Hanami parties were everywhere.  The one below was by the Ota River.

I just had enough to take the Dome before the sun disappeared below the horizon.

April 2nd: Miyajima, Iwakuni and Kurashiki

Miyajima (宮島) is a small island less than an hour away from Hiroshima.  The island has a few top notch attractions including the famous Grand Torii Gate and the Itsukushima Shrine.

We took an early local train at the Hiroshima Station.  Got off at the Miyajimaguchi Station.  By 7:00AM we boarded on the ferry to the Miyajima.

From where the Pagoda is located, you got a panoramic view of the village.

 Iwakuni (岩国市) is 40 minutes on the south of Miyajimaguchi by local train.  Iwakuni is known for its historical wooden arch bridge: the Kintai Bridge (錦帯橋).  The bridge has been destroyed by flood numerous times since it was built in 1673.  The most recent reconstruction was in 1953.  

Iwakuni was the most westerly place we visited in this trip. 

Our last stop of the day is Kurashiki (倉敷), a city located half-way between Hiroshima and Osaka.

Kurashiki literally means town of warehouse.  It was an important rice distribution centre during the Edo era.  Canals were built to allow boats travel between the warehouses.   The canal system has been preserved in the Bikan Historical Quarter.

April 3rd: Himeji, Osaka

Himeji Castle (姫路城) is considered as the most spectacular castle in Japan.  It is tremendously popular during cherry blossom blooming season.  To beat the crowd, we left Kurashiki before 6:00AM.  Google Map showed the quickest option to the Himeji Castle is to transfer to Shinkansen bullet train at Okayama station.

After a brisk 20-minutes walk from the Himeji Train Station, we got a glimpse of the Castle from outside of the Himeji Castle Park.

The moat of the Himeiji Park is also pretty.

A closer view of the Himeji Castle.

When light became too harsh, it is time to move on to the next destination Osaka.

April 4th: Osaka

With more than 300 cherry trees and over 100 varieties, Osaka Mint Bureau is undoubtedly the best location in Osaka to view cherry blossoms.

In rest of Osaka cherry blossoms have well past the peak, but cherry blossoms are not the only charm Osaka has more to offer.

Osaka is the food capital of Japan.  the signs put up by the stores and restaurants in the Shinsekai (new world,新世界) district are visual treats

as well.

If you like the hustle and bustle of the city, go to Dotonbori.

April 5th: Kyoto

There is a Japanese saying: 京の着倒れ，大阪の食い倒れ, which means Kyoto people broke because they spend all the money on clothes, Osaka people become poor as they spend all the money on eating.

Kimono is a traditional Japanese garment loved by Japanese and tourists alike.

April 6th: Kyoto

Gion, a district famous for geisha is very charming in an early morning.

I did not get photo worth posting from visiting the Arashiyama Bamboo Groves.  It is a lovely place but touristy for my taste.  Tenryū Garden inside the Tenryū-ji Temple is prettier in my opinion (than the Bamboo Groves).

Kyoto is not a mega city, but it has got hundreds of attractions spread out in every corners around the city.  You need to have a well-planned daily itinerary, or you ended up like me spending lots of time travelling in the city.

The Philosopher’s Path (哲学の道, Tetsugaku no michi) is a two kilometers long stone path through the northern part of Kyoto’s Higashiyama district.

April 7th: Kyoto

Our last day at Kyoto.  Walked to Imperial Park early in the morning.  Soon after entering the park, I noticed a grey heron standing right in the middle of the road.  Wow, what a nice wildlife encounter!  I didn’t expect to see wild bird in the centre of the city, in the royal palace.

I regretted leaving the EF100-400mm lens in the hotel, but an EF70-200mm f4L IS + 1.4TC would make do.  The bird must be used to people, as it was not bothered by the person jogging in the background.

The heron flew away and landed on the railing of a near-by bridge beside a pond.  I took a few more shots of this beautiful royal resident.

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) was my last stop in Kyoto.  The top two floors of the Pavilion are completely covered in gold leaf.

To be continued.