When the Covid-19 situation here started to escalate, many of us – including myself – were devastated when we heard that our travel plans would have to be put on hold.
Year on year, hoards of Singaporeans flock to Japan to get their fix of food and Instagram-worthy travel shots.
Other than the end-of-year holidays, one of the busiest times in Japan is Spring. Other than the well-known sakura – aka cherry blossoms – Japan is famous for other lush blooms, like vibrant tulips in hues of red, pink & yellow.
Sakura City in Japan’s Chiba Prefecture is world-famous for its tulip field that rivals those in Holland. The picturesque sloping grounds are blanketed in flowers, with its very own Dutch windmill!
Unfortunately, Sakura City was forced to fell the flourishing field of flowers, and it drew too many visitors despite Japan’s nationwide state of emergency.
Japan’s Prime Minister declared that the Chiba prefecture was under a state of emergency earlier on Monday (6 Apr), but that didn’t stop locals from visiting the thriving tulip field.
Although the annual Sakura Tulip Festival was cancelled, around 400 people were seen at the field on Saturday (11 Apr).
With the entire nation now under lockdown, as well as ‘full bloom’ approaching this weekend, Sakura City had no other choice but clear the field of 800,000 tulips to stop crowds from gathering.
Here’s what it looked like before:
And after:
The delicate rows of tulips were crushed by the tractor, just like our hearts when we heard the rationale behind this measure to keep people safe.
In place of flower fields, all that’s left seems to be a barren soil field.
Around 100 varieties and a total of 800,000 tulips were cut from 14-15 Apr in total.
In just 2 days, the field was reduced from an ethereal landscape to barren land once more.
It’s terribly heartbreaking to see, but we all know that it’s for the better.
Plenty of sacrifices have been made daily for people to stay indoors, both at home and abroad. The beautiful scenery was a difficult price to pay, but hopefully it emphasises the gravity of the situation.
Likewise, we should hunker down and stay in for the 2 more weeks of ‘Circuit Breaker’. We already had to sacrifice McDonald’s, so let’s make it worth the loss of comfort food.
Featured image adapted from JW Web Magazine and Twitter.
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