Picture this. A neighbourhood greengrocer pumping out hip hop beats filtered through angry cuss words. Grannies and mums picking their daily fruit and veg oblivious to the profanities. On the opposite side of the road is a tiny local train station with a patch of a platform that leads directly onto the street. No ticket gates required here.

A single blossom tree stands beside the station with its branches pressing blossoms against the frosted panel of the glass. The blossoms peering through become station art. Unlike any painting, it’s impermanent, fleeting, shifting with the weather and the sunlight. I revisited the station a couple of days later, the sun was out, many blossoms had shed their petals and that same panel looked quite luminous.

There are so many different species of cherry blossoms here in Japan. The one in the scenario above is Kawazu-zakura. It’s an early blooming variety. One of my favourites because it’s so radiant whilst the other sakura trees in my area are still dormant.