Photographing cherry blossoms on a Tokyo river
When I visited the Kanda River cherry blossoms in 2017, I had a good and terrible day. Well, even though the sky was cloudy, the flowers were fantastic. The bad? My beloved Pentax K3 camera died. The rear display fizzled, went black, and said goodbye. Let’s talk about it.
I’d had been in the Pentax system since 2012 when I bought a K-30. It was my first “real” DSLR camera, and I enjoyed using it. With its matte orange finish, it always got looks from people. Heck, I thought it was cool, and many years later I still miss it.
Eventually, an upgrade was needed. I bought a Pentax K3 in 2014. For three years, I never had a problem with it. It was another good camera.
It was easy to use and had excellent image quality. The build quality was second to none. Pentax mightn’t be as popular as Canon or Nikon, but that doesn’t mean its cameras are bad. The problem is they don’t have any features which set them apart from their competitors.
Anyway, I thought long and hard about my next camera. I thought about buying another Pentax. As much as I liked the brand, it didn’t seem to be heading anywhere in those days. It was time for a change.
In the end, I bought a Fujifilm X-T2. Its range of excellent lenses, 4K video, and versatility impressed me. And the talk of its retro feel grabbed me. Everything I heard was positive.
Let’s get back to the Kanda River cherry blossoms. As I mentioned, the weather was overcast when I went, but the trees looked fabulous. I walked two enjoyable kilometers from Takaido station to Hamadayama and back again. It was a great day of flower photography.
By the way, do you know the Kanda River? It’s more like a canal. There is little natural about it where I walked. On both sides of the water are drab, high concrete walls, but it still looks great when the trees are in bloom.
The river is famous. Its source is the pond in Inokashira Park. Long ago, it was the water source for the Edo Castle (now Imperial Palace). That explains why it looks like a canal. They had to dig it out.
The Takaido area of Kanda River is one of my favorite cherry blossom spots. It is picturesque with the many small bridges that cross it. People who live near it are lucky in the spring.
I’ve never seen the Kanda River cherry blossoms crowded. Few people picnic there. Most jog or walk their dogs. Sometimes photographers come for the flowers. It is a peaceful, local place that doesn’t suffer from Tokyo’s tourist overcrowding. Leave questions and comments below.
Kanda River cherry blossoms photo gear:
- Camera Body: Pentax K-3
- Lens: SMC Pentax-DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] DC WR
Rohan Gillett
Rohan has lived in Tokyo for 30+ years. He loves photography and plans to capture the entire city.
Here are more cherry blossom articles:
External related websites:
- Walking Map Kanda River Course 2 (on Bureau of Public Health Tokyo Metropolitan Government)