Spring is well and truly here.
A cherry blossom festival is already under way at "D51 Plaza," the basement-first-floor space on the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station. Titled "Send thoughts of recovery and energy to Tohoku," it invites visitors to write messages of encouragement at a table before the display. Young people meeting up and seniors passing through were putting their thoughts into words. One couple was discussing, "When the snow melts, let's go to a hot spring in Michinoku."
A campaign to plant cherry trees where the tsunami reached is also proceeding in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, to pass on memories of last year's great tsunami to future generations. Last year, from mid-April through May, cherry blossoms blooming in disaster areas brought immeasurable comfort...
One stop from Takebashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line, where Palaceside Building stands, get off at Otemachi and you are right at D51 Plaza with cherry blossoms in full bloom.