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Yoyogi Park cherry blossoms in 2023
The Yoyogi Park cherry blossoms were something I was desperate to photograph in 2023. I’d never photographed them! But I had a problem. The weather had been atrocious. It’s hard to believe I only had two days of good shootable weather that season. That’s right, two only.
Can you believe it? Only 2 for cherry blossoms! In most years, I get many more. But not in 2023. Photography can be like that. Ask any professional or amateur. Anyway, some people like overcast and rain. I guess it all balances out in the long run. You have to make do with what the weather gods dish out. Well, for this one I did good, I think!
Yes, the weather gods were kind to me that day. The Yoyogi Park cherry blossoms were great. We had some blue sky above the clouds. Everything was superb. The other good thing was that I went there on a weekday
There weren’t many people. About half were foreign tour groups. I also saw a couple of kindergartens with their students. The rest were sitting on blue sheets. Have you heard of these? These things can cover Japanese parks.
For picnics, most Japanese use them to sit on. But on this day, plenty of the sheets were around with only one person on them. Basically, they were placeholders.
As you probably know, hanami is very popular. It gets so crowded that groups want to reserve a spot. And that is what they do, one person or sometimes more will go and put their blue sheet down and waits. I talked to a group that had three guys on three huge sheets. They were expecting eighty-five people! They occupied a space big enough for a small house, albeit, a tiny one!
What lenses did I use for the Yoyogi Park cherry blossoms?
I only used the Fujifilm 10-24 mm. The perspective it offers from under or near the trees was interesting. This was probably my first time using it for cherry blossoms. I was happy with the results.
Wrapping up
It would have been good to spend more time with the Yoyogi Park cherry blossoms. But I felt the pressure to move on before the rain came down. Next, I squeezed in Meiji Shrine for a few photos. Following that, I went to Shinjuku Gyoen for a long session. Expect to see those in the near future. I hope you’ll like them.
Hopefully, there’ll be less rain for the 2024 cherry blossom season. I had a plan for 2023 but ended up only getting two days. Such is a photograher’s life. Please leave your questions and comments below.
External websites about the 2023 Yoyogi cherry blossoms
- 2023 3月30日 代々木公園の桜 その1 (Japanese language article)