2018 Kameido Tenjin Wisteria Festival
The 2018 Kameido Tenjin Wisteria Festival was disappointing. A sudden warm snap caused them to bloom early. It caught me unprepared. So even though the festival ran until May 6, it was over before April 22nd when I took these photos.
2018 Kameido Tenjin Wisteria Festival photo gear
- Body: Fujifilm X-T2
- Lenses: Fujifilm XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
The Wisteria Festival photography experience
It shows that there are times when you can’t win in photography. No matter how hard you try, it is impossible to get what you want. A sudden change in the weather ruined my 2018 Kameido Tenjin Wisteria Festival plans. Such is life!
I should have gone a week earlier, but I can only shoot once a week. It was a choice of either the wisteria or the azaleas at Nezu shrine. Ultimately, I chose the latter as there was a chance that the wisteria would still bloom. My plan didn’t work out.
There was a chance that the 2018 Kameido Tenjin Wisteria Festival wouldn’t look very good. But, it was still shocking when I finally entered the shrine’s grounds. It was mostly green, not purple. Only one section of the trellises had wisteria on it. Everywhere else was almost devoid of flowers.
Still, what was there in one section looked good. While the flowers weren’t at their best, they were good enough for photographs. There was no way I’d give in and go home in defeat. I worked with what I had and ended up with reasonable pictures.
In the end, it was another photography lesson. No matter what the situation, it is important to try. If you work with what you have, you can get something. Never walk away without putting up a fight. Make sure you get something!
In the beginning, I was hoping to get some photos of the wisteria from Kameido Tenjin’s drum bridges. And maybe I’d get Tokyo Skytree too! But that was impossible as there was so much green. I decided to shoot from ground level and incorporate the shrine, torii gate, and people. It seemed to work out well. These pictures are satisfactory.
The shrine also has a chrysanthemum festival in autumn. That is well worth checking out. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below.
Rohan Gillett
Rohan has lived in Tokyo for 30+ years. He loves photography and plans to capture the entire city.
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External related websites
- Kameido Tenjin (official website)