Bloomin’ busy

The last few weeks have seen cherry blossom fever hit Tokyo, and excitable TV presenters have wasted countless hours speculating on when full bloom would hit the capital. Pictures were taken, trees were filmed, and meteorologists gave unnecessarily long-winded explanations of when the blossom could (perhaps) be seen in all its glory.

Thankfully full bloom finally occurred at the weekend, and with its famously short life span (and rain forecast for today and tomorrow), every man and his dog was out and about enjoying a spot of hanami. Meaning that sitting under the blossom enjoying the beauty of nature and composing haiku in the peace and quiet was simply not an option.

Instead it was a battle against the camera wielding and picnic box carrying crowds.

And in popular photograph spots everyone pushed and prodded, desperately vying for a place to get that perfect shot.

But even for a miserable and cynical Englishman, it was a sight well worth the trouble. Not that the rushed photograph below does it justice. Although the inclusion of other sightseers’ heads is a nice touch I think you’ll agree.