Beautiful azaleas return to Nezu Shrine in 2021
Spring was back in Tokyo, and I was more than happy. In 2020, I missed the Azalea Festival at Nezu Shrine. Coronavirus caused its cancellation. Now it was back for 2021. I was excited. It is one of my favorite flower events.
We were back to normal. Well, almost. There was one significant change. The food stalls were gone. Thanks to the virus, they weren’t allowed. I missed them. Eating at festivals is fun! I hoped they would be back in 2022.
With beautiful spring weather, the azaleas looked very good. Once again, it was a flower-lovers paradise. Cameras and smartphones were out in force!
And in 2021, I did something new. I bracketed most of the pictures I took. And as tripods aren’t allowed at Nezu Shrine’s garden, I took every shot handheld.
It amazes me how far photography has come. The bracketing option I use on the Fujifilm X-T3 takes three pics. Then all I need to do is choose two. Lightroom does the rest. Usually, I’d do it manually. But, when there are so many branches and leaves to deal with, I take the easy way out.
One surprising thing was the lack of social distancing. You can’t see it in these pictures, but too many people congregated in some areas. I kept my distance as much as possible. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone?
In May 2021, the number of coronavirus cases had been climbing, so I didn’t go to most flower festivals. The authorities were concerned, so I made an effort to avoid crowds. But I wanted to go to this one. In hindsight it was foolish, but this event is important to me. The azaleas and the shrine have value on many different levels.
If you have been to this festival, let us know your experience. You can also read my article about Nezu Shrine on this website. It is a terrific place and worth a visit. It should be on your bucket list, especially if you love those beautiful azaleas.
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:
- Nezu Shrine (official website)