Introduction to Our Sponsors – The 15th Teshikaga Photo Contest
The winning entries of the 15th Teshikaga Photo Contest have been announced, and we have presented prizes to each winner.

This Teshikaga Photo Contest is made possible by the support of businesses located in Teshikagacho. On the official Teshikaga Navi Instagram, we will gradually introduce the sponsoring companies that have supported us. (In no particular order)

This time, we introduce Orchard grass! Check out Teshikaga Navi for a wide range of information. Thank you very much to Orchard grass for supporting this event!

We appreciate your continued support for the Teshikaga Photo Contest and Teshikaga Navi.

https://www.masyuko.or.jp/news/photocon_r08/

When I felt worn out from relationships and daily life, I looked up and saw beautiful cherry blossoms at night. Bathed in the streetlight and appearing fleeting, the blossoms calmed my heart.

“Petals Drift on a Spring Voyage”
Fushimi, Kyoto, Ujikawa River Diversion Canal. As petals scatter across the emerald-green surface, a Jikkokubune boat moves slowly. Passengers in kimono gaze at the spring scenery while cherry branches arch over the boat, creating a spring scene unique to Fushimi.

"Spring River, Boats Drifting"
Fushimi, Kyoto — a tributary of the Uji River. As cherry trees bloom to cover the water with a canopy of blossoms, a jukkoku-bune (traditional flat-bottomed boat) glides slowly along. On the banks, people savor spring in their own ways, and lantern-lit boats sway as they slip quietly into a tunnel of flowers.

“Cherry Blossoms and Rapeseed Flowers: A Spring Duel”
Fushimi in Kyoto, the Uji River branch. Full-bloom cherry trees arch overhead while bright yellow rapeseed flowers flourish at your feet, their colors competing vividly. Beyond the clear blue canal, the boarding point for the Jukkoku-bune boats sits quietly, and the tunnel of cherry blossoms continued into the spring light.

“Sakura Corridor, Spring River”
Kyoto – Fushimi, the Uji River branch. Cherry trees in full bloom lean over from both banks and stretch their branches toward the water, forming a pale pink corridor. New willow leaves tremble in the spring breeze as a person in kimono pauses quietly. Boats called jukkoku-bune ply this canal, filling it with the essence of Kyoto’s spring.

“A raft of blossoms carries spring downstream.”
Uji River branch in Fushimi, Kyoto. Petals blanket the water where the traditional Jukkoku-bune boats glide. On the banks, kimono-clad figures watch the flower rafts, while a tunnel of cherry blossoms takes on a soft glow. On this riverside afternoon, spring’s height and ending meet quietly.

"A Sanctuary Perfumed with Plum Blossoms"
Kitano Tenmangu, Kyoto. Amid the moss‑covered branches of an ancient plum tree, red and white flowers vie for attention as shrine priests in white robes move quietly through the grounds. The plum trees loved by Sugawara no Michizane, the kami of scholarship, once again color the precincts this year, standing dignified and fragrant even under a cloudy sky.

“An Afternoon in the Plum Garden”
The plum garden at Suishinin Temple in Kyoto. On a spring afternoon, bright red field umbrellas glow against the scene as fully bloomed red plums spread their branches toward the blue sky. At the ancient temple associated with Ono no Komachi, spring has returned unchanged again this year. The backs of people holding parasols quietly blend into this gentle moment.

“Plum Reflections of Silence”
— Spring at Umegomiya Taisha Shrine’s Sacred Garden —
In the sacred garden of Umegomiya Taisha Shrine, an ancient stone bridge stands quietly over the pond as blooming plum trees melt into the water’s surface. Pink and purple blossoms sway in the reflective water, where the springtime of Kyo gently comes to life.

Rinyoji Temple dyed in spring crimson

This temple is home to a weeping cherry tree that is about 200 years old.
A limited-time light-up of the tree is popular.
※Those who visit are asked to consider donating to the Cherry Blossom Fund 🙏

Rinyoji Temple, Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture

【🌸 Gokase Cherry Blossom Viewing 2026 🌸】
From Friday, March 20th to Sunday, May 10th!

The cherry buds are growing darker and larger, and we eagerly await the blooms😊

Please follow the Gokase Tourism Association Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/gokase_kanko/) and post photos of flowers taken in Gokase Town with the two hashtags #GokaseHanami2026 and #PhotoDate (e.g., #March20) 🤳❤️‍🔥
Every day during the event one person will win a specialty product from Gokasecho🎁✨
Outstanding entries will receive a gift set of Gokasecho specialty products🤩👏

Following last year, there is also the "Gokase Sakura Project Award" chosen by members of the student-led Gokase Sakura Project from Gokase Secondary School✨
⚠️This award applies to the weeping cherry at Kijiya🌸

Entries posted with the hashtags may be featured on the social media of the Gokase Tourism Association and the Gokase Sakura Project💡
[Period] From Friday, March 20th, 2026 to Sunday, May 10th, 2026

⚠️Other terms and conditions are posted on the Gokase Tourism Association website. Please be sure to read them before applying. https://www.town.gokase.miyazaki.jp/kanko/index.html
⚠️Please take great care to avoid accidents while photographing.
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In Gokasecho, which at last welcomes spring, you can enjoy many flowers besides the weeping cherry, including rhododendrons and akebono azaleas🌸
Why not take a leisurely flower tour around Gokasecho while soaking up the warm sunshine🤗?
We sincerely look forward to your participation✨

Photographed on March 19, 2014.
The weeping cherry trees at Naka-in are in full bloom. 🌸

📍Soedamachi, Fukuoka Prefecture
Soeda Sun Sports Land
Soeda Town, Fukuoka, Japan

Kawazu cherry trees are early-blooming cherry blossoms that begin to bloom around February.

📍933 Sho, Soedamachi, Tagawa District, Fukuoka Prefecture
Along the road on the Nishi Timoda Station side of Soeda Sun Sports Land

Aerial footage over Kasamatsu Kawazu-zakura Road

Kasamatsu Kawazu-zakura Road, Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture
March 2026

※Model has given permission
※Confirmed with the management office
※Comprehensive unmanned aircraft flight permission obtained from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
※Notification of the flight plan and creation of a flight log

A radiant morning on the Kasamatsu Kawazu-zakura Road.
It was delicious 😋

Kasamatsu Kawazu-zakura Road, Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture
Shot on iPHONE 11 PRO
March 3, 2026

Title: Eternal Vermilion: Koyasu Pagoda under the Kyoto Sky

Location: Koyasu Pagoda, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto, Japan

Description: This photo was captured at 3:57 PM in Kyoto. The afternoon sunlight perfectly highlights the vibrant vermilion of the pagoda against the clear blue sky. Shot on iPhone 12 (26mm, f/1.6, 1/1453s), capturing the crisp and serene atmosphere of the season.

A spring day in Sakado City, Saitama Prefecture, with Angyo Kan-zakura blooming in profusion. I captured a moment of my daughter laughing happily beneath rows of cherry trees in full bloom. Along with the soft spring light, the scene expresses the gentle passage of spring in Japan.

It's the moment in a spring field blanketed with rapeseed flowers when my daughter, caught up in the joy, tossed her hat into the sky with a gleeful laugh.
Wrapped in warm breezes and sunlight, she celebrates the arrival of spring in Japan with her whole being.

I'm on a business trip to Osaka today and stopped by Utsubo Park between meetings. I didn't know much about it, but after looking it up I learned the flowers are called kanhizakura; their flashy pink color is striking, yet they bloom facing downward with a shy charm that made for a lovely shot.

Mirai Towers and Kawazu cherry blossoms

I photographed Mirai Towers (formerly the TV Tower) together with Kawazu cherry blossoms in Central Park in Sakae, Nagoya.
March 2026

Jōnan-gū Shrine sits in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City.
This is Jōnan-gū Shrine.
A pale pink plum blossom and a fallen camellia rest on green moss.
The contrast of colors is beautiful.
The scene felt like a magical space, as if I were in another world.
(୨୧❛ᴗ❛)📷✨🌸🌼

At the moment when a long winter was about to end, I felt spring within a rolling whirl of power. In that early spring, the resilience of nature gave me the energy to live.

The tallest self-supporting broadcasting tower in the world, Tokyo Sky Tree, and Japan’s symbol of spring, the cherry blossoms. This photograph captures a moment where cutting-edge technology and nature cherished since ancient times show perfect harmony.
In Japan, cherry blossoms are more than mere flowers. They symbolize new beginnings and the poignant beauty of a fleeting moment. In this composition, the tower’s urban, sharp steel frame is gently outlined by soft pink petals, reflecting both the energy of ever-changing Tokyo and the unchanging beauty of the four seasons.
The clear blue sky contrasted with vivid cherry blossoms embodies Japan’s warm hospitality toward visitors. Through this single image, we hope you can feel the breath of tradition and innovation that Japan proudly offers.

I photographed this scene in the plum grove of Kenrokuen Garden, one of Japan’s three most celebrated gardens.
In this historic garden I sought to capture the passage of time played by the plums and the quiet vitality hidden within them, rendering both with a dreamlike interplay of light that blurs dream and reality.
A single drooping branch holds a few delicate pink blossoms, and countless floating orbs of light—bokeh—wrap around them.
Those many bokeh spheres symbolize layers of time linking past and future and the glitter of innumerable lives. I composed the shot to lead the eye to the central blossom, emphasizing its fleeting beauty and refined dignity.

Tsukigase Plum Valley Ume Festival
Now ongoing!
Thanks to the cold weather, the plum blossoms are likely to last longer✨
The area around Lakeside Village Tsukigase is at its best, too✨

Photo courtesy of yasunori okamoto

(2026-01-30) Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo Forest Aurora
I posted earlier about the Tokyo sea of clouds
Actually, this event upgrades at night
the :40 hourly show by adding colored LEDs and lasers onto the sea of clouds
to create the “Forest Aurora”
※From last November until this Wednesday
18:10 Sea of clouds
18:40 Forest Aurora (sea of clouds + laser projection)
19:10 Sea of clouds
19:40 Forest Aurora
:
:
and so on
Not the “Tokyo sea of clouds” but the “Forest Aurora”
This was
my first 2026 challenge of catching moments I might otherwise miss in life
Even a slight breeze can send the mist rushing toward us
or drifting off in unexpected directions,
constantly changing its appearance by the minute
So I take many shots and then pick a few that feel right.

A photo of Hamarikyu Gardens near my office on March 5th. Returning from a business trip after a week, the gardens are in full bloom with rapeseed flowers.

"Mimosa Draped in Spring Light"

Mimosa, a flower that announces the coming of spring.
I wandered through the park because I had to see those yellow blossoms.

After a while, I happened upon a mimosa tree bathed in the light of dusk.
The sinking sun backlit it,
making each tiny flower glow as if translucent.

In that soft light,
it felt as if spring itself stood there.

Japan’s spring arrives with warm light.
I captured that gentle atmosphere in this single frame.

📍Location: Yamada Pond Park
📷Camera: Nikon Z6II
🔍Lens: 70-200mm f2.8 VR S

Introducing Our Sponsors: The 15th Teshikaga Photo Contest
The winning entries of the 15th Teshikaga Photo Contest have been announced, and we have presented prizes to each winner.

This Teshikaga Photo Contest is held with the support of businesses located in Teshikagacho. On the official Teshikaga Navi Instagram, we will gradually introduce the sponsoring companies that have supported us. (Order is random)


Today we are pleased to introduce Kawayu Kanko Hotel, a long-established inn in Kawayu Onsen‼︎📝 For more detailed information about the facilities, please check Teshikaga Navi✨ Thank you very much to Kawayu Kanko Hotel for supporting this event🙇❣️


We appreciate your continued support for the Teshikaga Photo Contest and Teshikaga Navi.

https://www.masyuko.or.jp/enjoy/kawayukankou/