The Japanese government on Wednesday called for a drastic reduction in commuters as the nation faces an unprecedented surge of infections, forcing it to weigh legal options to enforce restrictions.
Few tourists were seen around Kiyomizu Temple in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto despite the sunny weather on Sunday. This follows the re-extension of the state of emergency in Kyoto Prefecture.
Stations and tourist spots quiet as Golden Week holidays begin Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
Jiji Apr 30, 2021
Train stations and tourist spots were largely quiet in Tokyo and elsewhere under Japan’s third coronavirus state of emergency as the Golden Week holiday period began Thursday.
At Tokyo Station, only a few passengers were seen on platforms of the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train line, unlike during the Golden Week period before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Occupancy rates for nonreserved seats on Shinkansen trains that departed the station by 10 a.m. reached only 60% at the highest and fell below 10% in some cases, according to the Shinkansen operator, Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Central.
Departed souls
white magnolias
The warming climate coaxed the arrival of a cherry blossom on March 26 in Kyoto. That is the earliest ever recorded since 1409. The date of the first Japanese cherry blossom to appear at Jisho Shrine, Kiyomizu Temple, in Kyoto has been tracked for 732 times since the year 812. This long and complete seasonal record serves as proxy evidence that phenologists use to study seasons and that haikuists can use to compare traditional and modern haiku. Subir Ningthouja awaited news of the cherry tree that is faithfully measured at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
Yasukuni shrine.
blossom the season
Satoru Kanematsu received complimentary bus tickets in Nagoya. Enjoying her garden in Tokyo, Junko Saeki was nonplussed by the soaring number of private companies selling Starship tickets to the international space station or around the moon. Tsanka Shishkova was enticed by the new way to travel.
TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
With All The Attention On Cherry Blossoms and Hanami, HANA-MATSURI, The Japanese Celebration Of Buddha`s Birthday On April 8th, Is Often Overlooked These Days (revisited)
8 April, 2021
With cherry blossom revelry down in the valley below, worshippers pour tea (AMACHA) over a TANJO BUTSU – a special Buddha image with one hand pointing up and another one down, used for celebrating April 8th – Buddha`s birthday
By Avi Landau
Through a break in the cloud-like canopy of cherry blossoms at Ueno park, I spotted it, up above on a hill, at the edge of The Ueno Kiyomizu Temple`s elevated veranda. A small pavilion, bedecked with flowers- and inside a small image of the Buddha. Despite the excited, pulsating throngs of cherry blossom enthusiasts pushing around me, I stopped for a moment to watch as someone took a dipper and poured a liquid over the little statue`s head. Then, in the middle of HANAMI, I remem