はな: A visual floral treat on the World Environment Day

Like these blossoms, we are all dying. To know life in every breath, every cup of tea…. The way of the warrior…. That is ぶしど / Bushido

Katsumoto-san (played by Ken Watanabe) in the movie “The Last Samurai”

The rampant anthropogenic excesses on nature, resulting in climate change is slowly endangering the cynosure of Japan – the majestic cherry trees which bear the spectacular springtime blossoms. The words of Katsumoto-san seem prophetic at this stage.

On the ocassion of the World Environment Day, I present the floral treat depicting a fraction of the surreal cherry blossoms or さくら (Sakura) – a perfect symbol befitting the perfect place, Japan. And why these magnificent trees need our help.

---

The Floral Treat – the cynosure, known as さくら (Sakura)

---

The Cherry Blossoms or さくら (Sakura) have always been an integral part of Japan. No wonder the spectacular blossoms and the perfection of those have inspired countless people since centuries. The references and awe of these springtime blossoms are quite noticeable even today in countless movies, tourism channels and videos, photographs etc. Even the Japanese Government emblem contains the Sakura.

As promised, let me show you some glimpses of the cherry blossoms I found in and around the city of Sapporo – the Capital of Hokkaido prefecture.

Venue 1: なかじま / Nakajima Park

The Nakajima Park is a city park constructed in about 1874 CE. This beautiful park contains a lot of trees, lakes and river streams. A concert hall and a sports centre are also housed within the park.

The park is one great viewing spot for cherry blossoms. The Nakajima Park is connected via the Metro or Subway. Shown here are a few photographs of the cherry blossoms in the Nakajima Park.

Venue 2: そえん / Soen

The sakura sightings in Soen was completely unexpected. I happened to wake up early at say 6 o’clock (which I continue till this date, thanks to a good habit I imbibed from Japan) and just thought of taking a stroll to Soen to visit the morning market.

And behold the magnificence I saw just a few metres away from the railway station (by the way, Soen is easily accessible by local train from JR Sapporo Railway Station or JR Sapporo Eki (えき)

Venue 3: おどり / Odori Park

The Odori Park is a major city park in Sapporo which is longitudinal and runs from East to West of the city, dividing it into North and South Zones. The Odori Park hosts the Sapporo Snow Festival in Winters and contains the iconic Sapporo TV Tower (now a tourist attraction) in Sapporo.

Needless to say, the Odori Park is also a major Sakura viewing point in Sapporo. It is well connected via Metro.

Oh, by the way, this album also contains some other beautiful flowers, which are unknown to me. I shall call them “Yellow Blossoms”. Would request you to kindly help in identifying those.

Venue 4: Sapporo Beer Museum

This is even more unexpected a site. The Sapporo Beer Museum is perhaps the only beer museum in Japan and a heritage site of Hokkaido. The museum also hoststhe globally famous Sapporo Brewing Company which is popular not only in Japan but also across the world, especially in USA and Canada.

We will discuss about the beer in another post. For now, enjoy the cherry blossoms and yellow blossoms at sub-zero freezing temperatures near the beer museum.

Venue 5: Fushimi Inari Shrine

I have described a bit about the Fushimi Inari Shrine in one of my previous posts. I urge you to have a look at that too by clicking the link here and let me know your views in the comments below.

For now, enjoy the view of the solitary cherry tree in the shrine which adds the mystical aura to the shrine.

---

Where

---

All the venues I mentioned above are connected via public transports like Metro, Tram or Bus. The Fushimi Inari Shrine involves a bit of a walk, though not too much.

---

The Cherry trees need our help

---

Recall the words of Katsumoto-san in the beginning of the blog.

The cherry blossoms are now under threat. And the threat is not caused by invasion of western culture or habits. Rather it arises from humans themselves and the threat is equally valid for humans as well. The threat is climate change caused due to global warming.

Let me share my experience. I faced an unexpected snowfall in the Sapporo during my visit and the temperatures never really recovered beyond 5 degrees Celsius even after a passage of 5 days.

While the chionophile in me was pleased, the environmentalist wasn’t. There are a couple of reasons for this:

1. Sudden Hot and Cold snaps are detrimental to the internal tissues of the cherry trees
2. Prolonged and extreme hot weather can cause cherry trees to stop growing and affect the repair of their internal tissues
3. Hot winters can cause no hibernation and premature blossoms

And thus, the cherry trees are being threatened by none other than climate change caused due to anthropogenic factors.

On the ocassion of the World Environment Day , let’s do our bit to combat climate change through the rapid deployment of green technology solutions leading to complete and irreversible decarbonization. I am proud to say that I work and specialise in one such irreplaceable sector – Green Hydrogen. Japan is one of the pioneers of this technology and I share the same passion.

Time is not a luxury we can afford and we need to ensure rapid deployment of this and other technologies at all levels of the society. Together let’s end climate change and ensure such magnificent cherry blossoms are there for the world to enjoy forever..

Thank you for being patiently there supporting my content and being aware of the threats to such magnificent trees. Let’s do our bit to conserve them. ありがとうございます / Arigatou Gozaimasu

© Abirbhav Mukherjee. All the pictures / videos posted in this article are my own unless otherwise mentioned.