Sakura shine at beautiful art installation at Tokyo Sky Tree’s Solamachi complex

https://ift.tt/2Hv0w7t Casey Baseel

Sakura and jellyfish: an unusual, but beautiful, combination.

We’re still a few days away from the blossoming of the sakura in Tokyo, but there’s already a place in the city where you can see beautiful cherry blossoms right now. Oddly enough, though, it’s in a place where ordinarily everyone’s eyes are on marine life instead.

At the foot of the Skytree is the Solamachi entertainment complex, which houses, along with numerous shops and restaurants, the Sumida Aquarium. Last Saturday, the facility kicked off its latest seasonal event, called, quite straightforwardly, Sakura and Jellyfish.

The highlight of the art installation is a 50-meter (164-foot) Kaleidoscope Tunnel, where approximately 5,000 mirrors reflect projected images of fluttering cherry blossoms in the corridor that also contains the aquarium’s jellyfish habitats. Look down, and you’ll see alternating projections of a carpet of cherry blossoms or a body of water, which respond with fluttering petals or spreading ripples with each step you take.

As you walk through the tunnel, soothing music plays, with its rhythm composed to match the natural pulsations of the jellyfish as they float in their watery homes. There’s even an olfactory component, with a special fragrance piped into the area meant to evoke the aroma of the soft breeze and gentle sunlight of a springtime afternoon (we’re not sure exactly what those aromas are, but they do sound much more pleasant than “jellyfish smell”).

The Sakura and Jellyfish event is going on now, and runs until April 25.

Aquarium information
Sumida Aquarium/すみだ水族館
Address: Tokyo-to, Sumida-ku, Osiage 1-1-2, Tokyo Skytree Town Solamachi 5th floor
東京都墨田区押上1-1-2, 東京スカイツリータウン・ソラマチ5F
Open 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Website

Sources: PR Times, Sumida Aquarium
Images: PR Times
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