Hanami is subdued this year due to the Tohoku disaster. In Shiga, Sakura Matsuri was canceled in Yogo (Nagahama) and the night illumination of the flowers have been canceled in certain places as well. Sakura is also blooming in the Tohoku region, and it’s nice to see them enjoying the blossoms there. If they are enjoying hanami, so should we. As Prime Minister Kan said, we should live our lives as usual.

I’ve been going around in Shiga and shooting sakura on sunny days. Here are a few pictures of this year’s sakura in Shiga (to be updated until late April). Click on the image to see the related photo album. You can also see the sakura status of each area in Shiga, so you know where it is in full bloom.