CHERRY BLOSSOM BEAUTY! SAKURA!

I found this quote from a traveling website. It said: ¨Witness the true magic of a Plan Japan adventure. Late March to mid April the countries iconic blossoms capture the attentions of visitors, making this the time to cherish the cherry blossoms in spring.¨

Ok, so late March through mid April. This is about 3 weeks total time or 21 days, according to what the website mentioned. Now, the reality is that bloom time in Tokyo lasts about 10 days, from the moment nature decides that it is time to start to bloom. Imagine then, that you are a traveler from a far away country, committed to spending several thousand dollars to be stuck in an airplane for more than 14 hours, only because your desire is to be able to walk through the incredible views of the blooming parks and areas around that incredible city called Tokyo. Maybe even take a boat ride down Chidorigafuchi park and embrace the beauty that surrounds you.

Wonderful, you´d say. But what if I told you that there is a possibility you might miss it? This could happen because by the time you have booked a flight and made a reservation, the weather patterns around Japan might have been a bit colder or warmer than usual, and this sudden shift in temperatures could give the cherry trees a signal to bloom when everyone least expects it. Which means, by the time you land at Haneda Airport, the whole show might be over. Now that would really be sad, because it is truly a beautiful event to experience.

THAT DREADFUL GLOBAL WARMING

Why is this happening? How come this uncertainty is so prevalent today regarding this event? Yep! Blame it once again on the now infamous global warming.

Recordings of this event, which for the Japanese is one of the most beloved times of the year, go back for many centuries, and they clearly demonstrate that according to experts, ¨humans are clearly overheating our planet at a frightening pace, and the early Sakura are harbingers of more change to come.¨

(CLICK THE LINK TO READ MORE, PLEASE) ( https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240223-climate-change-thwarts-cherry-blossom-travel)

The sad thing is that Japan itself is not helping as much as it could to solve this global problem.

COAL, COAL, AND MORE COAL.

Taketoyo thermal power station in Aichi Prefecture (Hisashi Naito)

As the following article clearly shows, as late as summer 2022, Japan was opening one of its latest, high tech, coal power plants. Clearly a step in the wrong direction.

( CLICK THE LINK, PLEASE) ( https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14670874

Japan is the fourth country with the most active coal power plants in the world, right after China, India and the United States.

(https://www.statista.com/statistics/859266/number-of-coal-power-plants-by-country/)

Several factors are contributing to this reality, but the Fukushima disaster has been the main player in this outcome. A third of Japan´s nuclear plants are still not operating and in order for the nation to avoid power shortages, other means of producing electricity had to be found. Coal was one of the easiest ways to avoid this, and so the government proceeded.

CHERRY BLOSSOMS, CHERRY BLOSSOMS

Fine, you land in Tokyo, you get to your hotel, and after recovering from the jetlag you run to all the well-known places to see the Sakura, but lo and behold, there are only a few lonely flowers left. What to do? Feel sorry about the whole thing, cry a bit, yell at the gods? Not really. The blooming cherry trees happen everywhere in Japan! This means, once the season finishes in Tokyo, all you have to do is take the shinkansen, go north, and one hour later you will arrive in Gunma Prefecture where the cherry blossoms open up a few days after Tokyo.

Gunma Prefecture Cherry Blossoms

If the above image is not nature trying to captivate you in all of its glory, then I don´t know what it is.

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for reading. Abrazos.

Diego Rojas