JOURNAL ・ FIELD NOTES

Kawazu Cherry Blossoms and Skytree ― An Early Spring, Three Rivers Deep

It is February, and you still cannot put your winter coat away. Yet a handful of riversides already wear the colour of spring. The kawazu cherry blooms far earlier than the familiar somei-yoshino, opening its deep-pink flowers when the rest of the city is still waiting. I met that colour along three different waters in Tokyo and Chiba, and I have brought it back to you in a single photograph.

A silver tower, standing above the water

At the foot of Tobu Bridge in Oshiage, kawazu cherry trees line the Kita-Jukken River and open their deep-pink flowers high against the sky. Just beyond their branches, almost close enough to touch, Tokyo Skytree raises its silver body straight upward. An early-blooming cherry and a modern tower ― two things that should never meet ― come together quietly in the clear February air. While the whole city is still waiting for spring, here, and only here, it has already arrived. That small, almost guilty joy is what draws people back to this spot every year. The flowers look more vivid than usual, I think, simply because the sky behind them is still winter.

Three riversides, two kinds of early spring

The same kawazu cherry wears a different face at each river. At the Kyu-Naka River, a little away from Oshiage, the current falls still for a moment and more than two hundred trees ― together with Skytree on a clear day ― appear perfectly mirrored on the water. Sky, blossom and tower spread out both above and below. Then, travelling on to Iwai-no-Seki in Asahi, Chiba, the city falls away entirely, and pink cherry blossoms ring a wide field of yellow rape flowers. Deep pink and soft yellow together ― I was struck by how rich the colours of a country spring can be. Standing by the water after a night shift in the emergency room, my mind not yet asleep, I felt as though the sound of the moving water was gently carrying away time that never stops.

An early spring by the February river.
Deep pink, softly unravelling the winter sky.

Planning your visit — season

Because it blooms early, the trick is to move ahead of the calendar.

In Tokyo and Chiba, the kawazu cherry is usually at its best from late February to early March ― about a month ahead of the somei-yoshino, and in warm years it can begin opening in mid-February. At Oshiage's Tobu Bridge you can enjoy the trees up close from the riverside path; the Kyu-Naka River is known for its two-hundred-plus trees and their reflection on the water. At Iwai-no-Seki in Asahi, Chiba, the cherry blossoms encircle a field of rape flowers in a vivid play of colour. Blooming shifts from year to year, so please check the latest local information before you go.

Getting there

For Oshiage and Tobu Bridge, the nearest stations are Tokyo Skytree on the Tobu Skytree Line and Oshiage on the Toei Asakusa and Tokyo Metro Hanzomon lines, both only a short walk away. The Kyu-Naka River waterside can be reached on foot from stations such as Hirai on the JR Sobu Line. Iwai-no-Seki in Asahi, Chiba, is easiest by car, though there are also nearby stations and bus services, so please confirm your route with current information.

Tips for photographers

When you frame Skytree together with the blossoms, where you place the tower changes everything. Letting it peek through a gap in the branches adds depth. Because the kawazu cherry is so deeply coloured, bright exposures can blow out the petals, so dialling the exposure down a little keeps that rich pink from washing away. At the Kyu-Naka River, wait for a calm morning when the water turns to a mirror. At Iwai-no-Seki, place the pink and the yellow side by side in the frame, and the contrast of early-spring colour becomes a single image on its own.

While you're in the area

In Oshiage, it is a pleasure to ride up to the Tokyo Skytree Town observation deck and look down on the very river of blossoms you had just been gazing up at. Wander the old shopping streets and vintage coffee shops, and you meet the slower time that flows at the tower's feet. Travel a little further to the Boso peninsula in Chiba and you will find early-spring flowers scattered across the seaside countryside ― linking two springs, city and country, in a single journey.

🌸 Bring home the deep early-spring pink of three riversides

This image is delivered as a silver-halide print on FUJICOLOR's finest photographic paper, carefully developed to hold the depth of every colour, and shipped worldwide.

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