Enjoy Japan's Cherry Blossoms (& Other Flowers) from Home This Year

As the coronavirus outbreak in Japan continues on, we're all trying our best to stay home and practice social distancing. But being cooped up inside, and away from people, is stressful at best. So we were excited when we came upon this new treasure trove of relaxing flower-based content from Japanese florist chain Aoyama Flower Market. 

Aoyama Flower Market only released their gallery page in the past few months -  some pretty uncanny timing. But the gallery features video content of a few different kinds: simple instructional videos on floral care, DIYs, flower growth reports from all over Japan, and (our favorites) flower time lapses.

While the other videos have their charms, and we can certainly appreciate the calming effect of watching talented gardeners and florists at work, Aoyama Flower Market's timelapses totally steal the show. Watching the petals of a rose or a tulip slowly spread as the flower blooms, before drying and wrinkling in front of your eyes, looks like pure magic. While the videos may be slow and calming, take a moment to think about how much the timelapse is really sped up!

There are plenty of other things to worry about right now, but we understand why locals and travelers alike mourn the loss of cherry blossom season this year. In Japan, when the sakura (桜, cherry blossoms) bloom, it's time for hanami, or cherry-blossom viewing. Hanami is a yearly tradition where friends and loved ones gather to sit under the pink blooms together, and enjoy the beauty of the season. With such social occasions as hanami basically out of the question for spring 2020, and many people staying home as much as possible to avoid aggravating the COVID-19 situation, we're all feeling the loss.

Which is why we take such pleasure in this video of one of Japan's most iconic flowers. Despite the rough situation in the world right now, the cherry blossoms inexorably explode into a beautiful frenzy of pink petals, which we can enjoy from wherever we might be sat inside. And thanks to the internet, we can easily share this small glimpse of spring with our friends, as well!

Take a look at this great gallery of soothing content, and tell us which video you find most appealing on the Japankuru twitter, instagram, and facebook!