Tokyo's Sakura in Ueno Park / Tokyo

During the first days of April, Tokyo’s inhabitants are eagerly waiting for spring to come and nature to wake up. As for its purity and short blooming period, the cherry tree, the sakura, diverse in colour and form, is strongly linked to Japanese culture. Ueno Park in Tokyo’s centre can bring relieve to people’s desire for nature due to living in one of the densest urban areas worldwide. For less than a week, the city’s main focus lies on celebrating those blossoms in a tradition called yozakura, together with colleagues and family, no matter if young or old. The later the evening gets, the more yozakura shifts from family picnic to a giant festival with alcohol and drinking. The morning after reveals that some have stayed the night, maybe hardly aware where they are, while some of them even slept in tents. They are woken by elderly security officers or by the noise of the passing garbage truck.

April 2017  

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