Monday 10 April 2017

2017 Sakura Season on the Chuo Local Line

EMU JR East E231 series travels on the Chuo Local Line

On April 2nd, the Meteorological Agency of Japan (JMA) declared that the cherry (Sakura) trees in Tokyo were in full bloom, at which time 12 days had passed since the JMA reported that Sakura trees had started to bloom.

Japanese people harbor romantic emotions towards Sakura blossoms, and I am one of those people. Seeing the beautiful blossoms dropping only a week after they flower reminds us of the brevity of life. That's why this season is very precious for us. Sakura viewing is a part of Japanese culture. Famous Sakura viewing spots are crowded with admirers.

This year, I visited some spots on the JR East Chuo Local Line. You can get to these spots on the stainless-steel trains with yellow colored stripes. They are the E231, E231-500 and the 209-500 series direct current commuter trains. Even in the center of the city, we can see many beautiful full blown Sakura trees on the line. For instance, Chidorigafuchi near Iidabashi Station is definitely my favorite spot.

Please look at the following photo. You can see full blown Sakura branches backed by an apartment and the blue sky. It is beautiful, but don't you feel that there is something mysterious about this picture? The contours of the apartment are wavy! Is it a parallel world? Might I have strayed into a different dimension or universe? The background scenery is unreal, isn't it?

Please don't worry. You can easily understand how to take this picture if you turn the photo upside down. Please enjoy.

Full blown cherry trees backed by mysterious "parallel world (?)" near Iidabashi Station