It’s a been a gorgeous week here in this part of Japan! The days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer, and even the sun seems to be shining brighter. Best of all, the plum trees are blooming!
Plum or Ume Blossoms are sometimes confused with their cherry blossom cousins. They look a bit similar, but noticeably darker and pinker. They also bloom much earlier–the end of February as opposed to the end of March or beginning of April.
In fact, they were apparently the original choice for Hanami, or flower viewing parties during the the Nara period, from 710–794. It’s still a bit cool for sitting out under the trees, so I can understand why Sakura are the preferred blossoms for partying in the park. Still, they are a glorious reminder that spring is truly just around the corner.
The warm weather has led me to being slightly arty, as evidence above (especially that last one!) My creative energies have been a bit dormant lately, so it feels really nice to just play around with layers & colors. These photos were somewhat inspired by Mika Ninagawa, one of my favorite Japanese photographers, and also utilized Hipstamatic. What do you guys think, did they turn out ok?
This is also my very first entry in Show Me Japan. Check it out!
superhappyawesome.co 
I love love love these photos!!! Wow! 😀
Thank you!!! I was really happy with how they turned out 😀
Beautiful!!! I want some! I haven’t seen any plum blossoms yet, though my mister brought photographic evidence of some from southern Tochigi. Me, being me, I’ll declare spring only when I see them with my own eyes. 🙂
And welcome to Show Me Japan!
Great photos! 🙂
You putting up the photo in that size made me think that it’d be great as am arty coaster. Cool!
Wahhhhhh!!! Sooo pretty! Love the vivid colours!
And the reminder that Spriiiiiiing iiiiis oooon the waaaaaaaaaaaay, woooohoooo!!! XD
Stupidly excited – more so because one of my friends reported “more snow, now -35C” back home. Nothing like a bit of Schadenfreude to make your day go just a bit smoother. 😉
Yes, Ume blossom is one of the early notable signs of Spring and cherry blossom is the evident sign of having booze:)
The last photo is so cool!
Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful Sunday night.
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