Witnessing the significance of the blooming of sakura and how deeply it moves the hearts of people in Japan, is a profound and transformative experience. The following visual essay documents the magical atmosphere that surrounds the fruition of these sublime petals and captures the emotions that this mere “blooming” conjures in their beholders. Yet it is precisely the sensibility to see and revel in the beauty in minutiae that inspired this ode to this incredible culture and its people.

The fanfare, the centuries-old rituals and traditions, and all the anticipation and joy born around the simple blooming of a tree, embody an essence of the soul, the sensibility of another order, and a strong connection to nature. Picnics are formally organized underneath pink ephemeral “clouds”. Young lovers adorn themselves to be immortalized on the bridge through a camera's lens. They marvel at, revel in, and are intoxicated by the slow mesmerizing snow of pink petals, because . . .