Japan’s best cherry blossom photos of 2013
Only the best of Japan’s cherry blossoms from the spring of 2013…
…a warm start to March (the first month of spring in Japan) saw the bloom of sakura come early this year.
Sakura photos from Japan In this article:
Kyoto hit it’s peak in the first week of April and Tokyo’s peak came 12 days earlier than average (at the start of the last week of March). In many areas, late snow fall covered cherry blossoms for an incredible mix of spring, snow and sakura.
This is a HUGE post with lots of photos! This year as I waded through thousands of photos to share on JapanTravelMate’s Facebook Page and @JapanTravelMate on Twitter , it was clear that this year the tourists, local photographers, J-bloggers and J-photographers were out in force!
Most of these photos look better at a higher resolution, so be sure to click on any photo to view a larger version.
The Best Sakura Photos from Japan 2013
Best of Japan’s Cherry Blossom Photos by J-bloggers and J-photographers
To wrap up the year in sakura, I approached my favourite bloggers and photographers based in Japan, and asked them to share their favourites…
By Leslie Tayler, GaijinCamera.com
Cherry blossom trees at Matsumoto Castle, Nagano Prefecture:Link to this image ∇
Photo by Leslie Taylor, gaijincamera.com . Original photo: Matsumoto Castle and Sakura Link to this image ∇
Photo by Leslie Taylor, gaijincamera.com . Original photo: In The Shade of the Sakura The famous Meguro-gawa in Tokyo:Link to this image ∇
Photo by Leslie Taylor, gaijincamera.com . Original photo: The Blossoming River
By Japan Dave, japandave.com
A wall of cherry blossoms in Okazaki:Link to this image ∇
Photo by David A. LaSpina, japandave.com . Original Photo: Cherry Blossoms 2013 Sakura surrounds a small bridge in Okazaki:Link to this image ∇
Photo by David A. LaSpina, japandave.com . Original Photo: Cherry Blossoms 2013 Shisare-zakura (weeping cherry blossom):Link to this image ∇
Photo by David A. LaSpina, japandave.com . Original Photo: Cherry Blossoms 2013
By Hida Satoyama Cycling
Tourists on a cycling tour in Hida City, Gifu Prefecture:Link to this image ∇
Photo by Hida Satoyama Cycling, satoyama-cycling.com/en .
By Shibuya246, shibuya246.com
A plum blossom and cherry blossom tree at the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park:Link to this image ∇
Photo by shibuya246.com . Original photo: Spring Walk, Kyoto Gosho .
By Zooming Japan, zoomingjapan.com
A deer in Nara city:Link to this image ∇
PENTAX K-x (18mm, f/7.1, 1/320 sec, ISO200) Photo by Zooming Japan, zoomingjapan.com .Great Buddha Hall (daibutsu-den) at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Todai-ji in Nara city, Nara Prefecture:Link to this image ∇
PENTAX K-x (18mm, f/11, 1/200 sec, ISO200) Photo by Zooming Japan, zoomingjapan.com .
By Lee Chapman, tokyotimes.org
A brief but beautiful cherry blossom moment in Tokyo:
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Photo by Lee Chapman, tokyotimes.org . Original photo: Cherry blossoms in Tokyo .
By Muza-chan, muza-chan.net
Higashi Shinen, Heian Shrine, Kyoto:Link to this image ∇
Photo by Muza-chan, muza-chan.net . Original photo: Japanese garden masterpieces, Heian-jingu Higashi Shin’en . Sanjo-Ohashi, Kyoto:Link to this image ∇
Photo by Muza-chan, muza-chan.net . Original photo: Simply beautiful Japanese scenes, cherry blossoms in Kyoto .
By ME! Dean Wormald, japantravelmate.com
Sakura at Okazaki Castle – 岡崎城の桜:Link to this image ∇
Photo credit: Sakura at Okazaki Castle – 岡崎城の桜 Okazaki Castle Park Sakura – 岡崎城公園の桜:Link to this image ∇
Photo credit: Okazaki Castle Park Sakura – 岡崎城公園の桜 Five-storied pagoda and sakura at Kofuku-ji in Nara. 奈良市 興福寺の五重塔:Link to this image ∇
Sakura at Kofuku-ji in Nara
HDR Photos of Sakura from Japan
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range – a photography process where multiple photos are taken of the exact same scene, at different exposures, to capture a broad range of highlights, midtones and shadows. When combined in post-processing, this images create a HDR photo.
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Sakura reflections at Odawara city, Kanagawa Prefecture (HDR Photo). Photo credit: shinnygogo Link to this image ∇
Osaka castle #1. Photo credit: Agustin Rafael Reyes Link to this image ∇
Osaka castle #2. Photo credit: Agustin Rafael Reyes Link to this image ∇
Tokyo Imperial Palace Moat. Photo credit: DJPHUNKYPHRESH Link to this image ∇
Tokyo. Photo credit: DJPHUNKYPHRESH Link to this image ∇
Tokyo Imperial Palace Moat. Photo credit: DJPHUNKYPHRESH Link to this image ∇
Saga Prefecture. Photo credit: WindyLife Link to this image ∇
Weeping Cherry ‘Shidare Sakura’, Niigata Prefecture. Photo credit: Shin-ichiro Uemura
More Beautiful Film and Digital Photos of Sakura
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Sakura in front of Tokyo Skytree. Photo credit: ajpscs Link to this image ∇
Sakura at Chidorigafuchi (North-Eastern moat of the Imperial Palace). Photo credit: ajpscs Link to this image ∇
Photo credit: Mos Lin Link to this image ∇
Kanzan sakura at Sekiyama, Niigata Prefecture. Photo credit: Mos Lin, 関山（かんざん）桜 Link to this image ∇
Komi-nato Railway “Cherry Tree Light Up”. 小湊鉄道 桜ライトアップ Photo credit: 夜の鉄道 Railway at night Link to this image ∇
Photo credit:月と桜 Night Sea Link to this image ∇
Tokyo Tower.
Photo credit: 東京の夜桜 Tokyo Cherry Blossoms
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Sakura in front of a gassho-zukuri style house at at Shirakawa-go. Original photo from Hida Kanko Co. Shirakawa-go Link to this image ∇
Sakura at Shirakawa-go, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Photo credit: Miyamoto . Link to this image ∇
Photo credit: Yoshiki Fujiwara Link to this image ∇
“1,000 sakura at a glance”, Yoshino-yama, Nara Prefecture. Photo credit: Yoshiki Fujiwara Link to this image ∇
Sakura in front of Kiyomizu-dera’s romon (tower gate) in Kyoto. Photo credit: cadacha Link to this image ∇
Meguro-gawa in Tokyo. Photo credit: mnagare Link to this image ∇
Rows of cherry blossoms at Obuse, Nagano. Photo credit: polarstar02 Link to this image ∇
Sakura along the Ryuganbuchi Urui River near Mt Fuji.
Photo credit: Cherry Blossoms and Mt. Fuji 桜と富士山
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Sakura at Kakunodate, Akita Prefecture. Photo credit: Spring in the Air Link to this image ∇
Film photo at Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto. Photo credit: Alex Chen Link to this image ∇
Film photo of sakura in front of the old Yamagata Prefectural Hall.marutyo Link to this image ∇
Shizuoka Prefecture. Photo credit: Agustin Rafael Reyes Link to this image ∇
Somewhere in Tokyo. Photo credit: Agustin Rafael Reyes Link to this image ∇
Yokohama city, Kanagawa Prefecture. Photo credit: Agustin Rafael Reyes Link to this image ∇
Photo credit: Matsuura Link to this image ∇
Sakura branches in Tokyo. Photo credit: *Sakura* Link to this image ∇
Film photo, somewhere in Kansai. Photo credit: Alex Chen Link to this image ∇
Film photo, Kansai. Photo credit: Alex Chen Link to this image ∇
Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. Photo credit: Glenn Waters Link to this image ∇
Koi swim under sakura leaves, scattered on the surface. Photo credit: 九尾 Link to this image ∇
Kyoto, near Kyoto University. Photo credit: cadacha Link to this image ∇
Cherry blossoms at the peak of spring in Kyoto – Shirakwaka River in the Gion area. 京都の春(祇園白川）nobu Link to this image ∇
Sakigake-Sakura at Hirano Jinja Shrine, Kyoto / 平野神社の魁桜（京都）Kaoru Honda Link to this image ∇
Kondo Hall at Omuro Ninna-ji, Kyoto. Photo credit: ELCAN KE-7A Link to this image ∇
宮島の桜 Cherry blossoms (closeup), Miyajima. Photo credit: kamoda Link to this image ∇
宮島の桜 Cherry and plum blossoms in front of Miyajima’s pagoda. Photo credit: kamoda Link to this image ∇
Tokyo. Photo credit: *Sakura* Link to this image ∇
Snow-willow blossoms in Chiba Prefecture. Photo credit: Damon Bay Link to this image ∇
Fallen sakura stuck to a torii after rain in Chiba Prefecture. 鳥居に咲いた桜. Photo credit: Damon Bay Link to this image ∇
A little girl bows before passing through a torii in Tokyo. Photo credit: Kohji Matsubayashi Link to this image ∇
Ueno Park, Tokyo. You need to see the high res version of this! Photo credit: Wil and Lil Best sakura photo of 2012?
These images aren’t from 2013, but they are well worth a mention!Link to this image ∇
Snow on sakura in at Mount Yoshino, Nara Prefecture. Photo credit: Totoro Times
Finally, a very old cherry blossom photo
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120+ year old photo of sakura in Japan. Photo credit: British Library/Robana / British Library/Robana via Getty That’s it!
If you like any of the photos above, be sure to quickly hit the VOTE button on your favourites.
Keep in touch with JapanTravelMate to find out which is the best sakura photo of 2013.
Your man in Japan, online since 2009.
I used to live in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, and travel to Japan at least once a year for three weeks.
Wow! So many stunning photos!
I see I still have a LOT to learn about photography.
Thanks for including my amateur photos next to all these professional shots! 😀
Oh, I was wondering who took the snow-covered sakura photo in Nagano! I’ve seen it all over the social media, but no credit. So thanks for clarifying! 😀
You’re photos are great, thanks for sharing!
Finally tracked down the original photo of the snow-covered sakura… it wasn’t actually Nagano, it was Yoshino-yama in 2012. I’ve updated with the original reference (I too could only find it on social media from this year) which I found via Google’s search by image.