The recent warm weather is fuelling a brilliant-bloom of sakura throughout Tokyo. After returning my loaner Voigtländer super-wide heliar 15mm f4.5 lens to its rightful over, we walked from Ebisu to Aoyama Cemetery 「青山霊園」following a (reliable) tip off.
The cemetery is famed for its numerous sakura, and is a popular hanami spot. People gather under the trees and drink, sharing stories and generally enjoying the warmer weather and longer evenings.
Judging by the map below, it seems that the living have more freedom than the dead.
Click the map for a full-size version. Check around the centre of the map...
Only three days ago, we were told that Tokyo was at "10% of full bloom". We guestimated that the cemetery was probably at around 80% bloom (possibly due to a combination of its height, and the warm weather).
We walked around the very peaceful grounds, until sunset. There were just a few others, either passing through, or taking photos. The atmosphere was almost the complete opposite of the scenes in other areas.
A striking similarity between the expensive property developments, and the tombstones
In other news, I've just published my RX1 review, which contains some previously unseen images - oh how exciting!
Tomorrow looks like a complete wash-out, but I'm hoping there are no strong winds. The trees will love the rain, but I'll be sad if they're stripped of the beautiful blossoms prematurely. Fingers crossed!