I was in Japan visiting some friends many years ago. I happened to schedule a trip to Kyoto. It was April.

I wondered why all the cheap hostel rooms were taken, but sprang for a room at a nice local traditional hotel.

Then I explored Kyoto for a couple of days, wandering around canals and streets, visiting temples. It was so beautiful.

I had arrived during the cherry blossom season by pure, dumb, luck.