In the follow-up to my previous post about the ume no hana (plum blossoms), it is currently (at the time of writing this) sakura (cherry blossoms) season. These annual spring buds are an iconic part of Japanese springtime. People get together in the parks to sit down, eat and drink, and just take in the scenery. This activity is called “hanami,” which means “flower viewing.” In case anyone needs a refresher about the difference between plum and cherry blossoms, here is a reference I found online (the difference being the shape of the buds).

Soga Bairin (Plum Grove) in Odawara

Before going cherry blossom hunting in Tokyo, my first encounter with sakura was actually in Odawara back in February, when I was busy seeking the last of the plum blossoms to photograph. In my previous post, I mentioned how disappointed I was to see almost nothing but bare trees. Luckily, I did manage to see that there were some plum blossoms left, but also a lone sakura tree with pink blossoms.

Yoyogi Park

My second attempt at finding Sakura was going to a big, well-known park in central Tokyo called Yoyogi Park. I was able to do this during our school’s spring break. There is no admission to this park, so it’s often crowded. Before becoming the park that it is today (which started in 1967), it was first the site of the 1964 Olympic Village, and before that, it was the site for US military personnel. This park is not quite known for its cherry blossoms (even though it does have some), but rather for its ginko trees that turn golden in autumn (which I missed).

After huffing and puffing my way through parts of the park while trying to find the open tree blossom area, I came across the central part of the park, which is Meiji Jingu Shrine.

While photographing in the twilight proved to be quite difficult, I managed to get some photos. Here, I could only find the white blossoms, as the pink-colored blossoms seemed more scattered throughout the city, as well as having bloomed earlier than the white blossoms.

While photographing, I noticed a bird up in the treetops. It was just within reach of my lens capability, so I snapped a few photos.

Little birdie then came back for more.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

After having an OK photography session at Yoyogi Park in the late afternoon and evening, I had the good fortune to go to another big park in Tokyo, Shinjuku Gyoen National Gardens. This is the same park that I photographed when I first got to Tokyo last August, and it was lovely to see the formerly green-leafed trees full of bright whites and pinks. While I didn’t quite partake in traditional hanami, I did eventually take a break to sit against a tree and listen to music on my headphones. There were plenty of other people there with the same idea.

Throughout my day, I saw many (many!) people posing for photos.

While back at the entrance area to this section of the park, a man saw me photographing and tried to get my attention. At first, I was afraid that he didn’t want me photographing something for whatever reason. However, he was trying to help by showing me flower buds on a tree that had both red and white blossoms together, which he stated was quite rare.

Every time that I thought that I was finished, I kept seeing things that I thought I should photograph just in case.

While I would love to travel the country to see the sakura at famous sites, I’m glad that I got the chance to see what I did while I did it (and that the crowds didn’t hinder my ability to photograph too much).