Takato Castle Ruins Park Looking up beside Ōunbashi, my bag clutched in both hands

I arrived at Takato Castle Ruins Park, parked the car, and walked through the grounds. Whenever I spotted blossoms, I slowed down a little. By the time I reached Ōunbashi, I'd stopped altogether. I looked up and couldn't believe there were still so many cherry blossoms above me.

I gripped my bag straps in both hands and tipped my head back. There were blossoms on nearby branches and farther off, too. As soon as I'd finished looking at one branch, another caught my eye. I'd walked here to see the blossoms, but right then I wanted to stay where I was and keep looking up.

As I tracked one small blossom with my eyes, I spotted the bridge railing between the flowers. I thought I'd look at Ōunbashi first, but somehow I'd started searching for cherry blossoms instead. I wanted to see the bridge and the blossoms, so my eyes were darting around a little.

I lowered my chin a little and looked beyond the bridge. Then I looked up again and spotted blossoms I hadn't noticed before. I'd already seen so many, and somehow there were still more. I let out a little gasp before I could stop myself, and my grip on the bag straps tightened.

Before snapping a photo for my friend, I gave myself a little more time to take in the view. As I tried to frame the shot, I wanted both the branch I'd been watching and the bridge farther back. I could decide on the framing later. For now, I just wanted to look at the cherry blossoms in front of me.

Even after I finally set off walking again, I couldn't forget the view from beside the bridge. I was just standing there, clutching my bag, but every time I spotted another blossom, my heart swelled. I'll show my friend the photos and tell her why I couldn't bring myself to move. I have a feeling we'll be talking about the cherry blossoms for a while.