On March 24th, 2025, the Meteorological Agency of Japan declared that this year's sakura (cherry) blossoms had started blooming in the metropolitan area. Spring has sprung! As I posted year after year, Japanese people harbor romantic emotions towards sakura blossoms. We are also reminded of the emptiness of life, seeing the beautiful blossoms dropping only a week after they fully blossom. Sakura viewing in this short period is a part of Japanese culture. This year, I took the JR East Yokosuka line to see sakura blossoms in Kanagawa Prefecture.
My destination was Zushi City, about 50 kilometers southwest of the center of Tokyo. When I reached Sakurayama (Cherry Mountain) Park, lots of visitors were there. They were families with children, couples and close-knit groups, and being fun in their own ways under the full-blown sakura trees. What most left an impression was a couple having “maedori (a bridal photoshoot ahead of their wedding day)”. Congratulations on your wedding!
On the way home, I took a moment to enjoy train shooting at Higashi-Zushi station. I was so happy that I could shoot an eleven-car train of the EMU E235-1000 series reflecting the sunlight, but… at the same time, I remembered that his (her) elder brother (sister), namely E217 series, was retired from the Yokosuka line on March 14th. I didn’t have a chance to say good-bye to the E217 series before the retirement. The E217 series… I’m truly sorry… but thank you so much for your hard working on the Yokosuka, Sobu-Rapid and Tokaido lines.
