On my third year living outside the city and I finally decided to film my Japanese barrio and the sakuras. Perhaps it's the change of season and how short lived the cherry side of the blossoms bloom that make this time of year something special/magical. It is like life in itself. Nothing last forever and everything is short lived as far as time is concerned. But there is a beauty in the tragedy or mortality that make it that much more beautiful. The ancient Greeks would have declared this the reason why the God’s envy us. Welcome to Sakura Saitama more precisely Chéri Owada.

On a personal note I have also taken this as a change not just in nature but also from within. By chance or fate I moved here right at the change of the season and was welcomed by these gorgeous plants, the parks, and the feeling of something indescribable. It always was a thorn on my side to film the neighborhood and shoot the kind of b-roll that reminded me of Midnight in Paris or Manhattan.

For the camera otakus out there and you know who you are. This was filmed on a GH5 v-log-l. Most of my recent uploads have been films I shot years ago. Many with cameras I was still learning to operate along with my own experimentation. Technically, a lot of it was with cameras that lacked the definition to capture the sort of scenes your favorite DP reels out. Hopefully this video is one of many for the shoots of 2020 that give the viewer a sense of what I experience with mi propio ojos.