Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

    Cherry blossoms bloom near Hirosaki Castle in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 21, 2021.

      School activities hit by coronavirus

      A mother takes a photo of her daughter under cherry blossoms in Osaka on April 7, 2020, after her elementary school enrollment ceremony was postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

        Geisha and cherry blossoms

        A geisha walks among flowering cherry blossom trees along Tokyo's Sumida River on March 29, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

          Licca-chan doll exhibition in Paris

          A Licca-chan doll from Japanese toymaker Tomy Co. is displayed at the Japan Cultural Institute in Paris, dressed in kimono while enjoying a cherry blossom festival, on Dec. 8, 2016, ahead of the 50th anniversary in 2017 of the launch of the popular doll. In the doll's back story, Licca is the daughter of a French musician and a Japanese fashion designer. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

            Big 'Hina Matsuri' (Doll Festival) begins in Katsuura

            KATSUURA, Japan - Girls clad in kimono stand for a photo in front of some 600 hina ningyo (a set of dolls representing emperor, empress, attendants and musicians in ancient court dress) at Tomisaki Shrine in the city of Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture, on Feb. 22. The dolls were placed on a red carpet on stairs leading to the shrine's gate. The city's 'Big Hina Matsuri' (Doll Festival) will run until March 2. (Kyodo)

              Snow "blossom" light-up

              Snow-covered trees are lit up in pink to look like cherry blossoms at Hirosaki Park in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Feb. 9, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

                Dolls floated out to sea in hope of good health

                WAKAYAMA, Japan - Boats carrying dolls are floated out to the sea March 3, Dolls' Day for girls, in Wakayama, with people hoping for good health and no disasters. (Kyodo)

                  Cherry blossoms in northeastern Japan

                  Cherry blossoms are in full bloom at Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 21, 2021.

                    Moss pink flowers near Mt. Fuji

                    Moss pink flowers are in full bloom at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on April 28, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

                      Moss pink flowers blanket Saitama park

                      Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on April 28, 2017, shows a vast expanse of moss pink flowers in Hitsujiyama Park, in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. More than 400,000 moss pink flowers in nine varieties will be in bloom through early May. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

                        Sakura mochi

                        Wagashi,Domyoji mochi,traditional Japanese sweets,cherry blossom rice cake,tea cakes,confectionery, spring, April, hanami

                          Hanami Kaiseki

                          Hanami Kaiseki, Kaiseki cuisine, Kaiseki course, grilled turban shell, lobster, steamed egg custard, Japanese cuisine, Japanese food,washoku

                            LED cherry blossom tree in Tokyo

                            An LED cherry blossom tree appears at the "sakura" festival in Tokyo's Nihombashi district on March 15, 2019. The event runs through April 7. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

                              Cherry blossoms in Tokyo

                              Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows people enjoy blooming cherry blossoms from boats in Chidorigafuchi, a moat in central Tokyo, on March 31, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

                                A teahouse and girls,Mukojima

                                The English title is Wayside Resting Place. This is probably the endai bench at a teahouse on the Mukojima embankment. The kimono style of the three dressed-up girls indicates that they are geigi (young geisha). The food on the bench appears to be manju sweet buns. Sakura-mochi (cherry cake), which people ate in the cherry-blossom season, is said to have been created by Yamamoto Shinroku, the gateman at Chomeiji Temple in Mukojima during the Genroku Period.==Date:unknown, Place:Tokyo, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number85‐35‐0]

                                  Tokyo, Osaka governors featured as traditional Japanese dolls ?

                                  TOKYO, Jan. 27 Kyodo - A?traditional?doll maker that unveils new figures featuring prominent newsmakers each year has chosen the governors of Tokyo and Osaka, two cities with high numbers of novel coronavirus cases, this time as a gesture of hope for an end to the pandemic.?Tokyo-based Kyugetsu Co. revealed the hina?dolls?of Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, 68, and Hirofumi Yoshimura, 45, on Wednesday at its headquarters ahead of Girls' Day on March 3.?In Japan, hina?dolls, representing an emperor, empress and their attendants wearing the court dress of the Heian period (794-1185), are?traditionally displayed by families with girls to celebrate the Girls' Day festival each spring.The firm also revealed?dolls?representing U.S. President Joe Biden, 78.

                                    Tokyoites celebrate 'hanami' at Ueno Park

                                    TOKYO, Japan - Groups of Tokyoites drink and sing April 8 in ''hanami'' festivities, as cherry trees, Japan's favorite, are in full blossom at Ueno Park.