surprise hanami in shioiri park : March 25 2025

March 2025 · 4 min read · Arakawa

this nightwalker initially went to a nearby park, just near the city hall. a friend mentioned that lights were installed in the area, that was in preparation for sakura watching, hanami. i don't think the flowers were already in bloom but i wanted to check the lighted ambiance at night. it was pretty romantic, but no flowers as expected. so on i continued my nightwalk.

and the surprise came at the next park.

shioiri park (汐入公園)

the park was located at that part of sumida river where a sharp turn southward was made. the banks made by that sharp turn somehow resembled a "horn", that was where this park was built. opened in 2006, the park was made as part of a redevelopment project in the area.

i was just finding a place to walk away from the streets, that was when i remembered this park. never did i knew that i was in for a surprise.

this was the last picture of the day, but she was the most dramatic so i showed her first. (first picture is always displayed as cover photo in actifit app, i believe. please do teach me if it is possible to choose a cover photo when using the app.) tokyo skytree with some flowers in the foreground. those are flowers, let me be clear.

those were from this bush. i don't know what they were called but these flowers were very abundant in the park. and they swayed gracefully with the wind; thus, the blurred portions. but i have always wanted to take a picture of the tower as focus with something in the foreground, that finally happened tonight. these were not the surprise though.

allow me to start from the moment i reached the park. a wide walkway greeted me and the ground was rubberized, perfect for a walk or a jog. i immediately thought of a friend who was into jogging and shared this location to her. there were no lights on this part of the park, but the bright lights from the apartment buildings beside it was bright enough.

walked further and noticed these trees. it was still dark, i couldn't really tell any details. but these trees looked familiar, the shape at least. with the apartment at the back, it was just so hard to see details against these lights.

walked a little further and there they were. confirmed! these were flowers! sakura? plum? peach? i really don't know, it was so hard to tell. but i really didn't mind. they looked pretty whichever it was.

lamp lights were sparsely installed, and these trees also happened to be near those lights in some area. that was a perfect spot to take some photos. these lamp light were clearly not meant for these flowers, they were just so bright. a dimmer yellow or anything warmer shade would be better but this is still better compared to nothing.

as mentioned earlier, the park was beside the sumida river. that night was windy and the river was clearly disturbed by the wind as well. this river served as a border between 2 tokyo cities. across this bridge is another city, adachi.

now let us go back to the flowers, hanami or flower watching is quite a big deal in japan. people usually sits under the flowers while eating or drinking with friends. this park had none of that up to this point, probably because it was dark in the previous area. but from here, groups of people have gathered. this one was a solo though, hanami is also a perfect time to reflect on one's self.

here are some of the loner's camp. a jogger can also be seen with her son on a scooter. i felt shy taking a picture of those in groups so no pictures of them.

i really did not expect to see this many blooming sakura or plum or peach trees in tonight's nightwalk. these trees just bloomed a bit early. the latter half of the park still had no blooms, still in the budding phase. but that part of the park was darker than the area before. i wonder if they will have a light-up in there. i know ueno park will have one.

as always, AMPING KANUNAY!