We are just back from a trip to Tokyo to see the Cherry Blossoms. As many people will know Japan has a love for the flowering cherry and the annual flowering is a time for celebration. Signalling in the new season in spectacular fashion.
One of the highlights of the trip was an evening at Meguro River in Tokyo, this is a fairly small tributary river lined with trees on both sides. At night the trees are illuminated which made for a magical experience. With food and drink stalls and a party atmosphere this felt more like we were at a music festival than a botanic event!
We were fortunate to be in Tokyo at the peak of the blooming this year, we had been watching the cherry blooming forecast (yes that really is a thing) for a few weeks before hoping we had picked the correct week. We had anticipated we may have been there right at the start rather than at the peak, but the weather had been very co-operative and the trip was perfectly timed.
Gaz
One of the highlights of the trip was an evening at Meguro River in Tokyo, this is a fairly small tributary river lined with trees on both sides. At night the trees are illuminated which made for a magical experience. With food and drink stalls and a party atmosphere this felt more like we were at a music festival than a botanic event!
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| Lanterns were stung along both sides of the river |
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| Although water levels were low, the reflections added to the magical atmosphere. |
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| Literally thousands of people packed the river banks to create a party atmosphere. |
We were fortunate to be in Tokyo at the peak of the blooming this year, we had been watching the cherry blooming forecast (yes that really is a thing) for a few weeks before hoping we had picked the correct week. We had anticipated we may have been there right at the start rather than at the peak, but the weather had been very co-operative and the trip was perfectly timed.
Gaz
This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends.
How exciting to see Tokyo's beautiful cherry blossoms illuminated. It must have been a magical experience.
ReplyDeleteSoo magical, there was a party atmosphere all over the city.
DeleteWow! Your karma must be good as I understand the timing of cherry blossom displays can be a very tricky thing. My local botanic garden had a patchy show this year as some trees bloomed early (due to unseasonably warm weather in January) while others bloomed late (due to the return of colder temperatures in March). I understand Washington D.C.'s cherry blossom festival is threatened by yet another spate of nasty winter storms currently rolling in that direction.
ReplyDeleteHopefully those winter storms won't come! Getting the timing right was a bit tricky and had to take a gamble. And had to keep an eye on the forecast since late last year.
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