I know, I know, Sakura is long gone, over 6 months ago in fact. Well I took a bunch of great photos and I had a really in-depth article planned on Sakura and what it symbolizes in Japanese culture, but I just haven't got around to that yet, and I just really want to share these pictures and a bit about Tachioka Park. If you happen to be near Kumamoto during Sakura, you might want to pay it a visit!
Tachioka Park
Tachioka Nature Park is located in Uto City, Kumamoto, Japan. One of the signs in the carpark tells us this about it:
A Natural park consisting mainly of Tachioka Lake that is said to have been built at the initiative of Kiyomasa Kato and Hanazono Lake completed at the end of the Edo Period. The park has about 2000 cherry trees and is one of the major cherry blossom viewing spots in the prefecture. This park is also equipped with tennis courts and campsites.
Outside of Sakura it is quite an ordinary looking place. The lakes look like small man-made reservoirs (which they are) and there is a walkway going around the edge and also through the middle section that separates the two main lakes. A number of people were fishing too.
But during Sakura (Cherry Blossom Season), the park transforms into a stunning pink wonderland.
We were fortunate enough to visit twice this year. The first time was when my in-laws had picked us up from the airport and we stopped by for a short walk on the way home. It was raining, the sky was moody and yet it was perfect. The Pink cherry blossoms providing colour and brightness to the scene, and contrasted nicely with the dull skies and dark greens of the forests on the surrounding hillsides.
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| A sign showing a map of the park |
So of course we wanted to go back when the weather was better. We didn't make a dedicated trip, it was more of a spontaneous decision as it's only a slight detour on the way home when we have been to the City. It was a beautiful warm day, the blossoms had fully bloomed and so of course everyone else in the entire prefecture apparently had the same idea. Traffic had backed up on the nearby road as essentially everyone on the road was queuing for entry to the carpark. There were people waving red lightsabers in the road and carpark to manage traffic even, It was chaos and testament to just how nice and popular this place is.
We didn't wait around in the traffic so went home. We returned again a few days later, earlier in the morning but on a day almost as dreary as the first time. I won't complain, I actually liked the atmosphere with the dreary skies and calm water. Blue skies would have made for better photos though!
We also made it onto the local NHK News. One of Tomomi's aunts recognized her when watching the evening news and called her mother, and by the time we got home we were watching our little cameo on screen, casually walking along admiring the cherry blossoms unknowingly being filmed by a news channel!
Photos of Tachioka park during Sakura
Please enjoy my photos below. All were taken on a Fujifilm X-T5 with Fujifilm lenses 23mm f/2, 50mm f/2 and the 16-50 f2.8-4.8. You can click to enlarge each image.
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