We had actually chosen a very good season for our last visit to Tokyo, as we were in the Japanese capital just in time for the cherry blossom season. At first we had been really lucky with the weather, but unfortunately it suddenly changed and it seemed as if winter wanted to come back. But now that I was finally back in my favorite city, I was still determined to have a good time here. It's not that often that I get to wander the streets of Tokyo anymore, so I had to make the most of this rare opportunity.
And I also had a little program planned for our last day. We had locked our luggage in the station and set off on a last walk, during which I wanted to soak up a lot more of the unique atmosphere that the Japanese capital has to offer.
Our route took us north out of Ueno Park when we passed a small temple. In the entrance area of this temple, we were greeted by the wonderful blossoms of a blooming cherry tree and I was once again utterly amazed. As always, I couldn't help but take a few photos as we went on a little extra round through the temple grounds.
We were at Gokoku-in, a Buddhist temple that was originally founded in 1625 as the first annex of Kaneiji Temple, which played an important role in the Edo period. Originally located behind the main Kaneiji building, the temple was later moved several times, one reason being the construction of mausoleums for the Tokugawa shoguns.
Over the centuries, the temple was destroyed and rebuilt on several occasions. In 1717, the main hall was destroyed by fire, but was re-erected in 1722. Later, during the Meiji period, the temple lost many of its original lands as parts of it were used for public facilities. This is probably a fate shared by many other temples and shrines in Japan.
But during our short, spontaneous visit, I was still unaware of the history of this site and actually it wasn't all that important. I simply enjoyed what I discovered, although I have to admit that the biggest attraction was probably this blooming cherry tree, which made everything around it stand out even more.
On the other side of the street you are greeted by the modern Tokyo of today, but somehow here in the temple it seemed very far away.
Visually, you couldn't completely block it out, but emotionally at least, I managed to do so quite well.
You just had to focus on the magic around you and then there was only Queen Sakura who mattered and who deserved our attention.
As usual, I approached it from different angles and really enjoyed our unplanned encounter. As in other places, it is often these typical Japanese style elements, which for example can be found in temples and shrines, that enhance and emphasize the magic of the cherry blossom even more. And I always have a lot of fun capturing and preserving this magic in my photos.
In addition to the cherry blossom, there were also these pink flowers, which possibly belong to an azalea tree. They were actually a little too early, but perhaps they were blooming especially for us that day.
In the end, we had only been here at the Gokoku-in for a few minutes, but this short stop had suddenly improved my mood even more. Actually, we were all a little sad because the great time we had here in Tokyo would soon be over. But luckily it wasn't quite that far yet, and we still had a few destinations we wanted to visit that afternoon. And if we received the same welcome there as we did here in this temple, then we should have a wonderful farewell to our short trip to the Japanese capital.
And that was exactly how it turned out and, as always, I have only the best memories of my favorite city. And as I do after every visit, I'm promised to come back again as soon as possible. Fingers crossed that we don't have to wait that long....
