Aoyama Cemetery cherry blossoms in 2018

It was 2018, and I found myself at Aoyama cemetery for another cherry blossom season. I was expecting it to be sunny for my visit, but the clouds had moved in. But even without the sun, I had a great time. The trees always make me forget my problems for a while.

The day before going, I attended AnimeJapan 2018. I was exhausted from it so I couldn’t get up early. Being unable to lift my head from the pillow at 6 am, I put in a titanic effort and got up at 6:40.  

After a quick shower, I packed my gear and was gone. Once out the door, my tiredness started to slip away as I started thinking about the photos I would soon take. By the time I got to the train, I was completely awake and ready to go.

The cemetery was a little disappointing. Cloud cover was widespread. There weren’t the blue skies I was expecting from the previous night’s weather forecast. Most of the morning was drab and grey, and the blue stuff only sporadically got through. 

It was only in the last thirty minutes of my time at the cemetery that things started to fine up. But, as I needed to push on to my next destination, Chidorigafuchi, I couldn’t stay any longer. It’s the curse of running a blog. You always need more and more material.

I did do something different with my pictures this time. Usually, I let the camera meter the light, and I take the picture. But, this time, I decided to overexpose a touch. The reason for that is that whenever I look at my photos, especially of flowers, they seem on the dark side. This time though, I was happier about things. I still need to experiment a bit more, but now I’m on the right track. Brighter is better!

The cherry blossoms of Aoyama Cemetery weren’t at their peak but they were close. I wanted to go back there again. That proved impossible as there were so many other places I want to go. Chidorigafuchi was next on my list that year.

Aoyama cemetery is one of the best places to see cherry blossoms in peace and quiet. Few people go there, so you’ll be able to enjoy the flowers at your own leisure.

I have to admit, though, that Shinjuku Gyoen was excellent.  It had the best cherry blossoms I saw in 2018. The weather for that visit was perfect. Actually, that season was the best I have experienced in Tokyo.

For these photos I used:

Fujifilm X-T2 camera

Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f2.8 lens

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