I should have gone there earlier. When I meandered along the Esplanade last week the peak of the cherry blossoms was clearly a thing of the past. But there were still enough pretty ones left to be fodder for the camera.

There were also many other stimulating sights that reassured me that I was still living in a world populated by other human beings. It was my first outing into the city proper since the beginning of January. Clad in jeans and down coat I was clearly not appraised of the appropriate dress code.

You might have heard that some of the Japanese cities famous for their cherry blossom festivals experienced the earliest peak ever since measurements began 1200 years ago. Scientists blame the warming spring temperatures due to climate change. What is worse, though, and less reported, are the delayed blooms in some areas of the country. These happen when winter, not spring, temperatures are too warm. The average cherry tree variety needs a full month of cold weather (below 41º F/5º C) in order to bloom properly.

There are about 600 or so variety of cherry trees. These days 70% of all Japanese cherry trees are of the Yoshino variety, which blooms profusely and not too long after it has been planted. These are also the trees you see in Washington, DC and in Portland, gifts given by Japan. Unfortunately they are quite susceptible to climate issues and disease. It is quite important to start to diversify varieties or we run out of cherry blossoms altogether in no time. Think of what that would do to tourism in Japan, or cities like Macon, GA which attract thousands for their annual celebration – they have more than 300.000 Yoshino trees, far more than the number in Washington, DC. Never mind the issue of pollinators being deprived of an important food source, endangering the food chain for all of us….

Then again, you would never have to stand again in a line like this.

That’s what it looked like pre-Covid times in the Amsterdam Bos, which is one of Holland’s most famous cherry tree arbors in the middle of a forest. 400 trees were donated by Japan in the year 2000, and each one of them was named, half Dutch and half Japanese female names. Alas, I could not find a single source to identify those names…. The municipality of Amstelveen, home to about 1700 Japanese ex-pats, organizes the festival.

And if you miss out on the real thing, this or any year where things change out of the blue, you can always create your very own blossoming cherry tree. Just requires a crane and a lot of blocks….881,470 to be precise. You can see this and numerous festivals if you travel to Japan in 2022 – here is you handy travel guide should the borders be reopened by then.

Or you can just walk down the Esplanade and enjoy what’s left of the bounty, strewn into nooks and crannies, hidden beauty wherever you look.

Here is the traditional Japanese version of Sakura, Sakura the cherry blossom song.

Here is a sweet variation with guitar.