The 2022 Nezu Shrine Azaleas were close to perfect

The 2022 Nezu Shrine azaleas were close to perfect. I almost flipped a coin before I left to see them. Why? It was either see them or tulips. I wanted to shoot both. The decision was a hard one. It was Saturday, and both would be crowded. But which would have fewer people?

I assumed the answer would be the azaleas.  The tulips were at Showa Memorial Park and Hamura, in west Tokyo. Those places are always wildly crowded because it was a weekend. Nezu Shrine seemed the safer bet.

The night before I went, I checked all the available information on the internet. Nezu’s azalea shrubs looked in pretty good condition. I soon made up my mind. There was no need to flip that coin, but it was close!

On Saturday morning, I was a little surprised when I walked in. The hill where all the azaleas were, had some pretty big patches of green. I didn’t expect that. A few more colorful azalea flowers would have been lovely.

My mind was ticking over. Hmm, what should I do? For a brief moment, I thought about going home. It was that type of situation. But I hate doing that. I gritted my teeth and thought I’d make the most of it. There was no way I would go home without some photos of the azaleas.

In the end, I made the best of the circumstances. There were two tactics I used. One was to point the camera in the direction of the plants in good condition. As much as possible, I avoided the green patches.

The other tactic was to zoom. Filling the frame with color let me avoid the green patches. I found this one to be most useful.

With each shot, the better I felt. Staying turned out to be the best choice. I was pleased with the photos I got. And while the hill was crowded, the people were an integral part of the scene.

In the end, it was a really good morning. The 2022 Nezu Shrine azaleas were close to perfect. They will only get better over the next few days. I doubt I’ll be able to go again, but it would be nice if that happened. Anyway, if you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

2 thoughts on “The 2022 Nezu Shrine Azaleas were close to perfect”

  1. Wow, what a beautiful place. Thanks for posting this. I’ve always wanted to see a garden with full bloom flowers and I didn’t know Tokyo has this gem. When is the best time to visit this place?

    1. Hello Mirma! Thanks for dropping by and your kind words. Yes, Nezu is a gem. You need to visit it one day. The flowers are in bloom from mid-April to early May. I wish I could give you the best time to go, but it really depends on the weather. Many times I’ve missed their peak just by a couple of days. They are so beautiful!

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