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Japan’s Cherry Blossom Season Dazzles Locals and Tourists

People walk under cherry blossoms in bloom at Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Yohei Fukai/Kyodo News via AP)
People walk under cherry blossoms in bloom at Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Yohei Fukai/Kyodo News via AP)
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Japan’s Cherry Blossom Season Dazzles Locals and Tourists

People walk under cherry blossoms in bloom at Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Yohei Fukai/Kyodo News via AP)
People walk under cherry blossoms in bloom at Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Yohei Fukai/Kyodo News via AP)

Japanese locals and tourists packed the country's most stunning cherry blossom spots on Monday to enjoy the dazzling flowers at full bloom.

The tiny white and pink petals of cherry flowers, known as sakura, herald the start of spring in Japan, and full bloom ushers in a brief period of boisterous outdoor parties held by residents.

Across the nation families and friends rolled out blankets and tarpaulins at parks, temples and even cemeteries over the weekend to eat and drink under cherry trees for traditional "hanami" or flower viewing gatherings.

Japanese people hold "very special feelings for sakura", said Tokyo resident Akiko Nyman, 48, as she admired flowers in crowded Ueno park in the center of the capital.

"We love it, because it is so short... it doesn't last long, it comes every year, something very special," she said.

At this time of the year, weather forecasters are laser focused on when the blossom will peak in each city, and they advise excited residents on the best weather days for picnics and how long the flowers might last.

In the ancient capital of Kyoto, officials on Monday declared full bloom after examining a sample tree within the grounds of Nijo-jo Castle, a world heritage site.

- 'Good photo opportunity' -

"We observed the cherry blossoms in full bloom on March 30," Kyoto Local Meteorological Office said.

Cherry flowers at ancient temples and shrines in Kyoto are particularly popular among visitors and locals.

Australian tourist Olivia Martell-Groves went all in for the seasonal experience, and donned a flower-printed kimono while marveling at the flowers.

"We wanted to see them because they're really pretty, good photo opportunities and something you can only see in certain times of the year... and also it just feels so peaceful and nice," she said.

In Tokyo, the flowers reached full bloom during the weekend, entering a brief period of stunning beauty, before the petals will fall like flurries of snow.

The flowers symbolize both the youthful energy and the fragility of life in Japanese culture as full blooms only last about a week.

The season marks the start of the new business year when university graduates join the work force.

It is also a time of farewells, when school graduates leave their hometown while many corporate professionals receive assignments in new cities.

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France to Illuminate Statue of Liberty for US 250th Birthday

The lower Manhattan skyline, including the new One World Trade Center building at right, is shown as viewed from near the Statue of Liberty, Jan. 31, 2014, in New York. (AP)
The lower Manhattan skyline, including the new One World Trade Center building at right, is shown as viewed from near the Statue of Liberty, Jan. 31, 2014, in New York. (AP)
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France to Illuminate Statue of Liberty for US 250th Birthday

The lower Manhattan skyline, including the new One World Trade Center building at right, is shown as viewed from near the Statue of Liberty, Jan. 31, 2014, in New York. (AP)
The lower Manhattan skyline, including the new One World Trade Center building at right, is shown as viewed from near the Statue of Liberty, Jan. 31, 2014, in New York. (AP)

France will stage an elaborate light show at the Statue of Liberty to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, the French consulate said Monday.

Described as a "monumental artistic creation," the show will be recorded in advance and broadcast by the ABC network at the start of its 25 hours of programming for Independence Day, July 4.

"The Statue of Liberty will be revealed to the public as it has never been seen before, in a staging designed to magnify its symbolic and emotional power," the consulate said.

"Our friendship goes back 250 years, it is still very strong, it runs deep, and that is why we wanted to do something significant," France's consul to New York Cedrik Fouriscot told AFP.

The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor was given to the United States by France in 1886, and is one of the country's most famous monuments.

France also dispatched its air force acrobatics team to the United States this month to mark the 250th anniversary.

On June 9, eight Alpha jets of the Patrouille de France filled the skies above Manhattan with the colors of the French tricolor -- soaring above the iconic statue.

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Brooch Given to First Passenger to Board Doomed Steamship Found at Roadshow

The brooch contains a dedication with the date April 21 1894 (AP)
The brooch contains a dedication with the date April 21 1894 (AP)
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Brooch Given to First Passenger to Board Doomed Steamship Found at Roadshow

The brooch contains a dedication with the date April 21 1894 (AP)
The brooch contains a dedication with the date April 21 1894 (AP)

A brooch given to the first passenger to board a Dundee-built steamship 37 years before she sank has surfaced at an antiques roadshow.

The decorative item was presented to Elizabeth Anderson on April 21 1894, the date of the maiden voyage of the SS Citrine, according to the British website ‘itv News.’

Built by Dundee shipbuilders W B Thompson & Co, the Citrine was one of a number of vessels in the Glasgow-based “Gem line,” all of which were named after gemstones or minerals.

The shipping firm was owned by William Robertson, who started out with a single barge in 1852 before growing it into one of the largest coastal bulk shipping fleets in Britain.

The brooch was presented to Anderson by Robertson and is inscribed with the words “SS Citrine, April 21 1894, Elizabeth McIntyre Anderson, from William Robertson.”

The sides of the gold-colored item are shaped as a ship’s rope and its center has been designed as a life ring mounted with a citrine stone, echoing the name of the vessel.

The Citrine sank on March 17 1931 after striking rocks at Bradda Head, Port Erin, on the Isle of Man.

Accounts at the time described the ship’s final moments in darkness, heavy weather and confusion, and the disaster claimed the lives of nine of her 11 crew members.

William Robertson had been dead for 12 years by the time of the sinking but the business remained in family hands under his sons, William Francis Robertson and James Robertson.
The brooch was discovered at a WeBuyVintage roadshow in Fleetwood, Lancashire.

Varieties

NASA Robot Mission Aiming to Rescue Space Telescope

This handout photo released by NASA on July 31, 2004, shows the Swift spacecraft being unwrapped in Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. (Photo by Handout / NASA / AFP)
This handout photo released by NASA on July 31, 2004, shows the Swift spacecraft being unwrapped in Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. (Photo by Handout / NASA / AFP)
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NASA Robot Mission Aiming to Rescue Space Telescope

This handout photo released by NASA on July 31, 2004, shows the Swift spacecraft being unwrapped in Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. (Photo by Handout / NASA / AFP)
This handout photo released by NASA on July 31, 2004, shows the Swift spacecraft being unwrapped in Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. (Photo by Handout / NASA / AFP)

NASA on Tuesday is set to launch a daring robotic rescue mission, a long shot bid to prevent one of its aging telescopes from vanishing into dust.

If successful, the effort could pave the way for giving other satellites a second life.

The operation is set to last several months, kicking off with the launch of a robot designed to rescue the Swift space telescope that's currently falling towards Earth.

Without intervention, Swift is expected to soon burn up in the atmosphere.

The rescue spacecraft developed by the US startup Katalyst is slated to lift off Tuesday at 1023 GMT from a Pacific Ocean atoll aboard a small rocket named Pegasus.

The rocket-propelled launch vehicle will not take off from a launch pad. Instead, it will be released from a jet.

"Everything about this mission is so crazy," said NASA astrophysicist Regina Caputo with a laugh during an interview with AFP.

After it reaches an orbit near that of the telescope, the robot must locate Swift across the vastness of space.

The aim is then for the robot to maneuver around the telescope and latch on with three movable arms.

It will then vie to tow Swift into a stable orbit over the course of at least a month, rescuing it from destruction by moving it about 300 kilometers higher.

"This is a lot of firsts stacked on top of each other," said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, the director of NASA's astrophysics division, during a recent call with reporters.

"I'm just deeply thankful that we're even giving this a go."

The idea of such a rescue might seem odd at first glance.

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory telescope was launched in 2004, and was originally designed for a two-year mission.

The device was intended to study gamma-ray bursts, what Caputo called "the most energetic things that happen in the universe."

She likened it to a supercharged version of a supernova, which is a dramatic, explosive death of a star.

Gamma-ray bursts are extremely brief, she explained, so the telescope was placed at an altitude of approximately 600 kilometers in low Earth orbit, so it could remain in constant communication with researchers.

But with that pro came a con -- at such an altitude, the device without its own propulsion would eventually drift closer to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.

Caputo said that phenomenon was expected and normal, because when the Sun is in its more active cyclical stages, it emits more particles and causes an expansion of Earth's atmosphere.

That creates drag, meaning satellites in low Earth orbit lose altitude.

Yet when forecasts in early 2025 indicated the telescope was nearing the end of its life, NASA began considering a possible rescue.

"We decided, yeah, we want to go save this one this time, because of how special it is," said Domagal-Goldman.

Despite its age, the Swift telescope remains in high demand within the scientific community, not least for its rapid response capabilities.

Should it burn up, it could not be immediately replaced.

The mission attempting unprecedented maneuvers has a projected cost of $30 million to save the device, which originally cost $250 million.

The rescue robot named LINK will have to overcome numerous challenges and unknowns.

For example, engineers do not have a clear picture of what the back of the telescope actually looks like -- even though that's where the robot must latch on.

With a laugh, Caputo projected the chances of success at "maybe 50-50."

Still, both NASA and the company Katalyst believe the mission -- which could run into the fall -- might pave the way for new possibilities in spacecraft management, and is worth a shot.

Robert Lamontagne, a vice president at Katalyst, said during a call with journalists that it could represent the "start of a new model" to "refuel, reposition, repurpose, repair, and even upgrade satellites, even if they were never prepared for it."