To celebrate spring this year we brought back our annual cherry blossom photo competition, which primarily took place on our Instagram. We received over 1,000 entries through our hashtag #twcherryblossom, showcasing an inspiring range of sakura moments from around Japan (we highly encourage you to browse it). 

It was incredibly difficult to choose a winner, but we kept our eyes peeled for photos with unique compositions, beautiful fleeting moments in time and photos that simply made us feel something special.

Scroll down for the submissions that deserve a special mention and our winner of 2022.

Special Mentions

1. This is how to capture a fleeting moment. The soft light, the mejiro and the single petal floating in the air. Take a bow Shadrina. An exquisite shot.

 

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A post shared by Shadrina // サドリナ (@shadsnap_)

2. A sakura-esque ode to Nihonbashi. Simply gorgeous from CJ.

3. A dreamy shot of what we believe is Inokashira Park captured by Nutmels. Is there anything more lovely than swan boats on a lake covered in pink petals?

 

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A post shared by @nutmels

4. Well, isn’t this the cutest thing we’ve seen in a long time. This submission from Cris has Nara written all over it. A wonderful close-up of a somei yoshino flower resting gently on the nose of a deer.

5. A brilliant split-second capture of a salaryman crossing paths with a ginger cat underneath a gorgeous cherry blossom tunnel. Gitta has captured a very Tokyo moment at Ikosan Homyoji.

 

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A post shared by gitta ギッタ (@sparkinordinary)

6. A photo that feels like a beautiful dream from TW contributor Burcu in Katsushika-ku.

 

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A post shared by Burcu Basar (@bizarrejourneys)

7. What a precious moment. Kate went straight for our hearts with a puppy-ful photo in front of the cherry blossoms.

8. Scary yet spectacular. A rare combination of snakes and sakura spotted in Ueno Park.

9. Charming and comforting, a delightful submission from Raka.

 

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A post shared by Raka Rivaldi (@rakarivaldi)

10. It doesn’t get more Tokyo than this photo. Another submission that makes us feel like we’re dreaming.

 

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A post shared by M4t1ss (@m4t1ss)

11. A photo that will make you tear up. This weeping cherry blossom tree taken by Ben has us wanting to lie down under the sakura with a good book.

12. A quintessential Tokyo image: Arielle‘s stunning shot of sakura alongside a vending machine.

13.  A simple yet breathtaking composition. Naash gets bonus points for these absolutely divine colors.

 

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A post shared by ナーシャ (@naash.i)

14. A slice-of-life moment caught by Lawrence around Kawasaki’s Shukugawara Station.

 

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A post shared by lawrence (@errmagad)

And this year’s winner is…

The winner of this year’s competition is Kim Fitzgerald with not one but two photos that made us gasp. Congrats! 

 

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A post shared by Kim Fitzgerald (@kimmi_fitz)