Chubu Electric Power MIRAI TOWER and Kawazu cherry blossoms I photographed Chubu Electric Power MIRAI TOWER (formerly the TV Tower) together with Kawazu cherry blossoms in Central Park, Sakae, Nagoya City. March 3, 2026

Tracing the footprints of stories, an adult getaway.🌿 Amakusa Reihoku Literary Walk unearths Reihoku’s literary heritage and proposes a new kind of journey. Recently, with the cooperation of people inside and outside the town, we held a monitored tour📖✨ Literary monuments blending into Reihoku’s beautiful scenery and the landscapes beloved by great writers. As you walk listening to a literary tourism guide’s commentary, the familiar streets begin to sparkle like a novel. A stroll themed around “words” offered a wonderfully indulgent refresh that makes you forget the rush of daily life. From now on, we will prepare to bring this “story” and the landscapes that gave it life to many more people. Look forward to future updates!

Welcome to the Kikuchi Cherry Blossom Festival 2026 🌸 Kikuchi City will hold the Kikuchi Cherry Blossom Festival at Shimin Hiroba to coincide with the cherry blossoms. Please enjoy the spring scenes of cherry trees spreading through the town on the breeze. 【A red carpet will be installed on the Kikuchi Shrine Sando】 Event period: March 20 – mid-April (scheduled) 【Kikuchi Sakura Marche】 Date and time: Sunday, March 29, 10:00 AM–4:00 PM The venue will feature local gourmet food, the Kikuchi Sakura Marche, workshops, and stage performances with a spring feel. There will also be family-friendly activities such as hands-on experiences for children, appearances by local mascots, and a small mobility test-ride event. 【Kikuchi Sakura Marathon Marche】 Date and time: Monday, March 22, 9:30 AM–2:00 PM A gourmet market will gather at Shimin Hiroba, the marathon’s starting point, bringing together Kikuchi’s local foods. Additionally, the KUMAMOTO FURUGI CARAVAN is scheduled for March 28 and 29. Please note that details may be announced on the day or subject to change. Mornings tend to be relatively less crowded, so a morning stroll is recommended. Please consider adding it to your plans! Contact Kikuchi Cherry Blossom Festival Executive Committee TEL 080-9106-7416 Executive Committee Chair Sato #Kikuchi Cherry Blossom Festival #Cherry Blossoms #Kikuchi City, Kumamoto Prefecture

Himo Tokeba Sakai: Stunning Ink Art Live Painting Performance🖌️ “ICHIGO ICHIE” by Vít Kodoušek ( @squaremotionart ), an artist who served as the Ceremonial Director for the Czech Pavilion, will be held! Using ink, he captures the atmosphere of the moment on canvas in a dynamic performance. Experience the birth of art that can only happen “here and now” up close✨ 📅 Date: Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22 ⏰ Times: ① 11:00 / ② 14:30 (about 25 minutes per session) 📍 Venue: Sakai Risho no Mori 💰 Admission: Free 🔍 For details, search “Himo Tokeba Sakai 2026”! 🔗https://www.sakai-tcb.or.jp/news/detail/20251217133435...

Dinner in Gokase 🍴 Today I’m sharing a dinner that a tourism association staff member recently enjoyed ✨ Starting with the dinner 🍴 Top photo: roasted venison 🥩 Look at that shine… 🤩 (Ah… this is very much the staff member’s personal impression) This was a shocking dish that made me think, I’ve never had venison this delicious before… 💡 After tasting this roasted venison, all my previous assumptions about game meat were turned upside down! The vegetables were mainly local, seasoned so you could eat them endlessly 😊 The wild boar stew left no trace in the pot—scooped up with bread— the chicken was tender and juicy, and the venison Bolognese was neatly finished off 😋 Even the dessert, a kettle-roasted tea brownie, made this a hugely satisfying dinner 👏 This time I had a non-alcoholic cocktail, and it was thoroughly satisfying ✨ …I’m really frustrated I couldn’t drink alcohol… 😭 (saying it out loud) This dinner was at: Guesthouse & Bar EL CAMPO 📍872-1 Kuraoka, Gokasecho, Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki Prefecture Note: The venue normally opens Friday through Sunday, but will open on weekdays by reservation. Note: Course meals are available with a reservation at least one day in advance.

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.

Untie the Strings, Discover Sakai: Try Traditional Techniques! Make Wagashi Sweets 🍡 Learn authentic wagashi (nerikiri) making from Sakai’s craftsmen. Handcraft two sweets: a seasonal wagashi and one inspired by the Expo. Take your freshly made treats home with you. Why not create your own little work of art? Children are very welcome to join. 📅 Date: Friday, March 20 (national holiday), and Sunday, March 22 ⏰ Times: 1) 13:00– / 2) 14:30– (about 60 minutes per session) 👨‍🍳 Instructors: • March 20: Mr. Maeda from Sakai Hosen Kashisho • March 22: Mr. Takada from Hamasaki Souka-an Minoya 📍 Venue: Sakai Risho no Mori Lecture Room 💰 Fee: 500 yen (cash only) ✅ No reservation required (10–15 participants per session, first come first served on the day) ※ Children under 3rd grade must be accompanied by a guardian 🔍 For details, search “Untie the Strings, Discover Sakai 2026”! 🔗 https://www.sakai-tcb.or.jp/news/detail/20251217133435...

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.

🌸For a spring outing🌸 Take a leisurely tour of Sakai’s old highways and relax at Kokoan with views of the Mausoleum of Emperor Hanzei🍵 How about a stroll around Sakai’s old highways during cherry blossom season?🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️🚶 A sightseeing volunteer guide accompanies the tour, so you’ll learn many new things✨ After the walk, unwind at Kokoan next to Hochigai Shrine⛩️ with sweets and tea🍡🍵 Enjoy a tranquil time in a lovely location overlooking the Mausoleum of Emperor Hanzei😌 Discover the charms of nearby Sakai you might not know, together with the cherry blossoms🌸 *Photo of the cherry blossoms at the Former Kosenji Temple Akai Site: taken on March 29, 2025* 📅 Date and time: Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Meet at 9:50 or 12:50. Reservations required at least three days in advance 💰 Fee: 4,000 yen (includes Kokoan voucher) 📍 Meeting place: Sakai City Hall 21st-floor observation lobby *On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays one person may join. From Monday to Thursday we accept requests for groups of two or more.* 🔍For details, search “Sakai old highway tour” https://www.sakai-tcb.or.jp/tourism/detail/201...

#Himotokeba Sakai \/ Miyakumyaku Comes to Sakai🔵🔴 Himotokeba Sakai 2026 ~OSAKA SAKAI EXPO~ Miyakumyaku Photo Session in Sakai Confirmed! A chance to take photos and videos together🌟 Relive the excitement of the Osaka-Kansai Expo in Sakai once more! 🗓️Date & Location: Friday, March 20 @ Inside Daisen Park Saturday, March 21 @ Sakai Risho no Mori, Lecture Room, 2nd Floor ⏰Times: ①11:00 / ②13:30 / ③16:00 (30 minutes each) 💰Free ✅Advance lottery system; application period: Tuesday, March 10, 10:00 – Monday, March 16, 10:00 ※Winners will be notified by email on Wednesday, March 17. 🔍Search for "Himotokeba Sakai 2026" for details! 🔗 https://www.sakai-tcb.or.jp/news/detail/20260227145543...

＼👧All children enter free👦／ From Wednesday, March 25 to Tuesday, March 31, for seven days, Noah Dolphin Dome celebrates its first anniversary by offering free admission for children (ages 4 through elementary school)🎊 We have many other special anniversary programs lined up just for the occasion📢 Of course, our regular animal-interaction programs will run as usual! Make wonderful spring memories at Noah Dolphin Dome…🌸 Admission fees ◯ Regular rates Adult (junior high school and older): ¥1210 Child (ages 4 through elementary school): ¥770 ◯ Night time (entry from 17:00) Adult (junior high school and older): ¥770 Child (ages 4 through elementary school): ¥550 *Children aged 3 and under are free all day* Opening hours 10:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30) Parking None (please use nearby coin-operated parking; no partner parking available) 🔍 Search for "Noah Dolphin Dome" for details! 🔗 Website: https://www.dolphindome.jp//

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

Introducing Our Sponsors — The 15th Teshikaga Photo Contest The award-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 Teshikaga. On the official Teshikaga Navi Instagram, we will gradually introduce the sponsoring companies that helped make this possible. (In no particular order) Today we introduce Poppotei Co., Ltd. / Cafe Poppotei, located in front of Mashu Station!📝 Detailed information is available on Teshikaga Navi, so please check it out.✨ Thank you very much to Poppotei Co., Ltd. / Cafe Poppotei for their cooperation with this event.🙇❣️ We appreciate your continued support for the Teshikaga Photo Contest and Teshikaga Navi. https://www.masyuko.or.jp/enjoy/poppotei/...

Tsukigase Plum Valley Plum Festival Now underway! At its peak♪ Please come and visit! This Sunday looks like it will be busy again. Saturday, which we worried about weather-wise, looks fine✨ Photo courtesy of Yasunori Okamoto

Photographed on March 4 The early winter cherry trees near Ginza Street, at the Sakimicho curve, are now in full bloom and catching the eyes of passersby. Of the three trees, the one at the top is called the "Sakamachi Temple Cherry". It is said to be one of the trees planted in the grounds of Iou-ji Temple, which once stood here in the early Meiji period. The tree is over a hundred years old. It survived the Honcho great fire of 1944 and the Atami great fire of 1950, making it a precious cherry tree. Sakamachi Temple Cherry — Address: Sakimicho, Atami City (opposite Hotel Kan-ichi) About 20 early winter cherry trees in Shinsui Park are also continuing to bloom, so please visit if you are in the neighborhood. Shinsui Park — Address: Nagisacho, Atami City (Shinsui Park Daiichi Kouku to Shinsui Park Second Section)

Tsukigase Plum Valley Plum Festival Now underway! At its peak♪ Please come during a quiet weekday moment! It looks like this Sunday will be crowded again. The weather is a concern, but visitors who come on Saturday will likely be able to enjoy it more leisurely✨ Photo credit: Yasunori Okamoto

📢Program Broadcast Notice📢 Teshikaga will be featured on STV Sapporo Television Broadcasting’s Dosanko Weekend on Saturday, March 7, starting at 9:25 AM👀✨ The crew filmed on location around the town and will introduce many aspects of Teshikaga from various perspectives. Look forward to it❣️ Please be sure to watch‼︎

Tsukigase Plum Valley Plum Festival Now on! At peak bloom♪ Please come during a calm weekday time! On the hill opposite the Plum Museum stands a splendid weeping plum tree✨ Photo courtesy: Yasuki Okamoto

This is a spring scene viewed from Motohakone in Kanagawa Prefecture. The combination of Mount Fuji, Lake Ashi, fresh green foliage, and a torii (shrine gate) looks like a painting.

This is a shot capturing the vibrant duet of mimosa and cherry blossoms blooming within the grounds of Kuramae Shrine in Taitoku, Tokyo Metropolis. A lush stand of mimosa fills the foreground while the cherry blossoms in the background are softly blurred, giving the whole frame depth and a rich density of color. I emphasize the joyous contrast of yellow and pink that signals spring’s arrival, conveying the shrine’s pure atmosphere alongside the energetic radiance of life in spring.

Nana Field Road 2026 in Kamogawa City, Chiba Prefecture runs through Sunday, March 8, 2026. Feel spring in a field of four million rapeseed flowers. Stay at a partner hotel in Kamogawa City to receive a free flower-picking ticket (10 stems). It takes about two hours from Tokyo Station by train, express bus, or car. It is an 18-minute walk from Awa-Kamogawa Station.

Tsukigase Plum Valley Plum Festival Now underway! More areas are coming into full bloom♪ Please come and visit! Photo credit: Yasunori Okamoto

Winter silence reflected in a circular window ■Shooting location Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel "Light Cave", Niigata Prefecture ■Background and thoughts behind the work I have long been deeply interested in contemporary architecture and geometric form, and I wanted to capture this space by architect Ma Yansong through my own lens. In the severe cold of February, a silver world spread beyond the tunnel. What I aimed to express in this image was the contrast between the clinical stainless steel walls, the rugged snow-covered mountains of nature, and the water-mirror that blurs the boundary between them. I paid particular attention to the placement of the figure and the balance of symmetry. In the quiet, blue space, a single human step adds a moment when a "story" is born within frozen time. My fingertips felt numb in the subzero air, but when the perfect circle and its reflection aligned through the viewfinder, I felt an indescribable exhilaration. This photograph is a precious memory from a winter trip that closed my study abroad life in Japan, taken while confronting my own sensibility.

🎎 Kuwanouchi Hina Doll Exhibition 🎎 Today (February 27) I went to see the hina doll exhibition in the Kuwanouchi district.👀✨ I lost track of time admiring the dolls loaned by local residents and the artworks arranged around them.🥰 The warmth of the community seemed to shine through the hina dolls.💖

Tsukigase Plum Valley Plum Festival Now ongoing! More areas are coming into full bloom♪ Please come and visit! Photo credit::Mr. Yasuki Okamoto

The winning entries of the 15th Teshikaga Photo Contest have been announced! This time, we present three Special Prize winners and the Executive Committee Special Prize. ✶ Special Prize ✶ Erisa Nitta "The Back of MtKamuinupuri" Takashi Kuroda "Rime in May" Koji Yajima "Standing at Dusk" ✶ Executive Committee Special Prize ✶ Taiga Takahashi "Ice"

The winning entries of the 15th Teshikaga Photo Contest were announced recently. Here we present the special prize winners 👀✨ Enjoy. — ⋆⋆✶ Special Prize — ⋆⋆✶ Noriyasu Masuda "Overwhelmed by Vast Nature" Nobuyuki Yamamoto "go!go!go!" Takahiro Kori "Intermingling Plume and Cloud" Hieeda Hiromi "A World of Silence" For other winners and winning works, please check Teshikaga Navi. Congratulations to all the prizewinners‼︎ Thank you to everyone who participated‼︎ We appreciate your continued support for the Teshikaga Photo Contest and Teshikaga Navi 🙇❣️ https://www.masyuko.or.jp/news/photocon_r08/...

The winning works of the 15th Teshikaga photo contest were announced recently. Today we present the selected entries for your viewing👀✨ Enjoy. — ⋆⋆✶ Selected — ⋆⋆✶ Shoichi Koike "Rays of Light" Fumiaki Nishikawa "Solitary Thoughts in the Morning Mist" Murakami Grace "Dripping Winter" Urata Marunī "Dragon’s Mist" Rie Ishida "Reflection — Capturing Summer" You can check other winners and winning works on Teshikaga Navi. Congratulations to all the prize winners‼︎ Thank you to everyone who participated‼︎ We hope you will continue to support the Teshikaga Photo Contest and Teshikaga Navi🙇❣️ https://www.masyuko.or.jp/news/photocon_r08/...

Good morning ☀ This morning in Tsukigase Tsukigase Plum Valley Plum Festival Now on! In full bloom! February 14, 2026 – March 29, 2026 Photo: Yasuki Okamoto

The Otaru Canal in winter’s magic hour. On the right bank, stone warehouses weigh down with snow in silence, while on the left bank the warm glow of gas lamps lights the snow white. Countless candles floating on the water trail long tails of light across the cold surface, gently swaying. People strolling along the promenade, captured in long exposures, become blurred light afterimages, visualizing the dense passage of time within the still scene. The cold air and the fires that seem to melt it coexist, etched together in vivid contrast.