It’s cold. The wind is blowing hard and my umbrella, purchased at iSetan is not doing its job very well. The rain comes in at a sharp angle and as I walk, I stumble as the umbrella is pointed directly in front of me partially blocking my view. I imagine I look ridiculous, umbrella facing forward as the wind and rain pound my legs and feet. The chill starts to take hold and I search for some indoor space and stumble into a crowded coffee shop. I looked outside through the glass and noticed people making their way through the storm. So, here I was in Tokyo not really prepared for the maelstrom in front of me. Hmmm.

I came to Tokyo in part to see cherry blossoms. The wonder of finding very inexpensive flights and a very cheap room made the trip possible. I couldn’t believe my luck!

As I landed in the city, rain soaked clouds filled the sky and the darkness at 3:30 PM made for a very solemn arrival.

I made my way quickly through customs and to the Keikyu line to Asakusa. The rain poured from the skies and I wondered about walking from the station to the hotel. Would I be soaked? I left my umbrella at home by accident and now wished I had one handy. No matter. I’d be fine as the walk was less than a 1/2 a mile.

The wind and rain battered me as I walked onto the busy sidewalk. I hurried across the street and down an alley I remembered as a shortcut to the hotel. I made it into the building just as the wind nearly blew me down! My expectations of sunny days and cherry blossoms were slow fading.

As morning dawned on that first day, I woke early, dressed for the rain, and walked the short distance to Senso-ji temple and the cherry trees all over the grounds. It was a cold, cloudy day and the wind crossing the Sumida River was fierce. As I made it to the Haruman Gate, it was early, about 7:00AM and few people were gathered. I grabbed some coffee and wandered around, just looking for some shots of the trees and the temple. As I approached the first tree just to the right of the main shrine, the buds were tightly closed. The cold weather of the past week had slowed their bloom and I caught the trees just before they opened.

I headed up the temple stairs and had the room to myself as few people were awake to see the sights. The quiet was remarkable, having seen this sample place literally filled with people in the past. I relished the time spent and decided to head toward Ueno Park, about three miles away. Surely I might find some blooms open in that location!

I chose sidestreets and neighborhoods to walk through to the park and was soon alerted to my phone buzzing an earthquake alert. I looked around and people were going about their routine. Some stopped for a minute to see what would happen. A mother and daughter biked together to school and they paused for the alert and kept going. Workers in an alleyway kept loading a truck with trash, and an elderly man glanced at his watch as it buzzed, and then kept shuffling along.

I’ve been in small earthquakes before and wasn’t too concerned, but the message caught me off guard and, as it turned out, a earthquake refuge was nearby, a small Buddhist temple. I went through the gates into the garden and looked around…photographing the grounds. A strange silence descended on the city and the birds I heard a few minutes before were silent. I wondered if they knew something I didn’t? As I looked around, I saw more signs of the day progressing normally and no one was obviously affected by the sirens and alerts. So, I did what everybody else was doing: I went about my day.

As I walked, the wind crashed between the tall buildings in near Ueno and it was intense. It pushed me around as I walked past an elementary school. Once on the main street, I could see the walking bridges that rose above the train tracks and city streets. I climbed the stairs and walked toward Ueno park in anticipation of finding the elusive cherry blossoms. Long lines of people made their way up the stairs and into the dedicated lanes for foot traffic into and out of Ueno. Lining the path were cherry trees, none of which had bloomed yet. The light rain and chill temperatures were testimony to their quiet and slow awakening.

As the day passed and I made my way to sushi and the hotel, I reflected on the situation I was in. Many of the things I wanted to do were rudely pushed to the side and what remained was me trying to recreate and reform what I wanted from this trip. That led me to rethink a few things:

1. I had to brave the storm, no matter what.
2. My choice of locations needed to change to accomodate some new ideas I had about what and where to photograph.
3. To just let it all go…to allow these changes to happen without regret.

I decided to go on the hunt for cherry blossoms the next day, sure that I would happen upon a cache of these illustrious blossoms in some corner of Tokyo.

May you be happy, may you be well.