Taking in the blossoms while avoiding the crowds
The State of Emergency has been lifted for Tokyo and surrounds, but authorities want us to remain cautious but it is peak (peek) season for sakura--the cherry blossoms. I'm fortunate to have a few blossoming in and around the neighbourhood, though actually, they bloom pretty much anywhere, such is the reverence for the sakura that they are planted all over the place. We have just two out of the usual five blossoming in the park across the road since the council called by a few weeks ago and cut all the branches right back.
Luckily, I live within walking distance of the Tokyo Daibutsu, one of the larger Buddha statues in Japan, and it doesn't attract the sorts of crowds that other famous places do. There is another temple close by too, Shogetsuin and although I've walked or bussed past it many times, I've never been inside the gates. Until yesterday.
Yesterday, Saturday was a fine, at times overcast day but according to the weekend forecast, Sunday was to bring wind and rain and a certainty to blow away the ephemeral pink petals of our imaginations. So a stroll around the neighborhood temples was in order.
First stop, Shogetsuin (松月院）
And then a short walk down the road to the Tokyo Daibutsu, (東京大仏) which I have visited often, over the years...
And then, a little further down the road to Akatsuka Park, for a little lunch break and some experimental macro shots (in a park better known for its plum blossoms...).
The wind and rains of Sunday are yet to eventuate as I write, the rain clouds are around, the breeze turns to wind at times but the petals are hanging in there for now. We might not be quite finished after all.
I experimented a little with the macro lens, my macro skills still need some work...
(Canon EOS90D, EF70-300mm, EF100mm macro)
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