Tokyo’s cherry-blossom declaration came on Sunday the 14th. Five or six flowers had opened on the specimen Somei Yoshino at Yasukuni Shrine. It was tied with last year for the earliest on record. Was this winter really that warm?
Regrettably, because of the spread of COVID-19, the “Chiyoda Cherry Festival” is canceled again this year. There will be no night-cherry lighting along the Chidorigafuchi greenway. The Chiyoda Ward Tourism Association is asking people to refrain from hanami there.
But cherries bloom here and there. This morning in front of Kyoritsu Women’s University, beautifully opened blossoms seemed to bless the festive graduates heading to the diploma ceremony.
Even if we cannot banquet under the trees, even if we cannot go to famous spots, let us enjoy the cherries around us to the full again this year.