What began with a gift in 1912 at the Tidal Basin is now a four-week extravaganza spanning Washington, DC, and neighboring communities in Maryland and Virginia. From exciting events to convenient hotels, delectable Cherry Picks restaurants to, vibrant Art in Bloom installations, and a jaw-dropping City in Bloom to joyful Petal Porches, see the Washington, DC area as you can only see it once a year!
What began with a gift in 1912 at the Tidal Basin is now a four-week extravaganza spanning Washington, DC, and neighboring communities in Maryland and Virginia. Click the filters on our interactive map to see all that the Festival has to offer and craft a tailored experience as you Rediscover Spring. From exciting events to convenient hotels, delectable Cherry Picks restaurants to vibrant Art in Bloom installations, and a jaw-dropping City in Bloom to joyful Petal Porches, see the Washington, DC area as you can only see it once a year!
Meditation helps us build a relationship to a place of inner quietude. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled practitioner, join us for free, 30-minute online meditation sessions led by DC-based meditation teachers.
In celebration of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, Friday meditation sessions in April will include inspiration from Japanese art in the museum collections as well as appearances by special guests. All are welcome! No previous experience is required.
What began with a gift in 1912 at the Tidal Basin is now a four-week extravaganza spanning Washington, DC, and neighboring communities in Maryland and Virginia. Click the filters on our interactive map to see all that the Festival has to offer and craft a tailored experience as you Rediscover Spring. From exciting events to convenient hotels, delectable Cherry Picks restaurants to vibrant Art in Bloom installations, and a jaw-dropping City in Bloom to joyful Petal Porches, see the Washington, DC area as you can only see it once a year!
The Lab has transformed into a Cherry Blossom Festival Celebration! Engineer a kite and test it in our wind tunnel, create cherry blossom origami, explore the science and history of cherry blossoms as you embark on a scavenger hunt throughout the entire Lab, and more!
What began with a gift in 1912 at the Tidal Basin is now a four-week extravaganza spanning Washington, DC, and neighboring communities in Maryland and Virginia. From exciting events to convenient hotels, delectable Cherry Picks restaurants to, vibrant Art in Bloom installations, and a jaw-dropping City in Bloom to joyful Petal Porches, see the Washington, DC area as you can only see it once a year!
The revered sakura, or cherry blossom, has been celebrated in landscapes, figure paintings, and prints by artists from medieval Japan to Katsushika Hokusai and beyond. Long after the cherry blossoms fall in Washington, DC, you are invited to embrace hanami, the traditional Japanese custom of “flower viewing,” by going cherry blossom viewing in the museum’s Japanese art collections!
Schedule a free online tour for your group of ten or more adults. These live, interactive tours feature high-resolution images of artworks and provide virtual visitors an opportunity to engage in conversation with the museum’s docents. To schedule your adult group, please use the online reservation form. All online tours must be scheduled at least four weeks in advance.
Book Cherry Blossom Online Tours for Adults now by clicking below:
Cherry Blossom Online Tours for pre-K-8 Students is now available from March 14 to April 29, 2022. Book now by clicking below:
What is it about cherry trees, or sakura, that makes them so beloved? During this virtual field trip, students will explore hanami, the traditional Japanese custom of “flower viewing.” Through paintings, woodblock prints, and other art forms, students will discover Japanese symbols, values, and traditions associated with blooming cherry trees. Students may write poetry; learn Japanese characters; or “jump into” a work of art and imagine what they might hear, feel, see, and smell.
The museum offers reserved live, interactive online learning programs led by docents on a daily basis, except for Wednesdays and federal holidays. All programs are subject to scheduling availability. Programs can be customized to last from twenty minutes to one hour and will be hosted live in an encrypted, password-secure meeting on the Zoom platform.
What began with a gift in 1912 at the Tidal Basin is now a four-week extravaganza spanning Washington, DC, and neighboring communities in Maryland and Virginia. Click the filters on our interactive map to see all that the Festival has to offer and craft a tailored experience as you Rediscover Spring. From exciting events to convenient hotels, delectable Cherry Picks restaurants to vibrant Art in Bloom installations, and a jaw-dropping City in Bloom to joyful Petal Porches, see the Washington, DC area as you can only see it once a year!
Explore all three floors of Torpedo Factory Art Center, home to the nation’s largest collection of working-artists’ open studios under one roof, to view a building wide art exhibition inspired by the Cherry Blossom. Artists will exhibit one or more unique artworks in their studio or gallery and explore their own interpretations of the Cherry Blossom, cultural, colorful, visceral. Visitors will discover new ways of thinking about the seasonal pink event of the region.
Can’t visit the exhibition? – a select exhibition of artwork will be on view at torpedofactory.org along with artist commentary.
What began with a gift in 1912 at the Tidal Basin is now a four-week extravaganza spanning Washington, DC, and neighboring communities in Maryland and Virginia. From exciting events to convenient hotels, delectable Cherry Picks restaurants to, vibrant Art in Bloom installations, and a jaw-dropping City in Bloom to joyful Petal Porches, see the Washington, DC area as you can only see it once a year!
The business environment surrounding passenger rail has changed dramatically globally since the outbreak of the pandemic. Currently, demand for passenger rail has not returned to pre-pandemic levels with the diversification of work styles, including more remote work.
At the same time, we have witnessed significant milestones for this industry in the past few years in both Japan and the U.S.
This symposium aims to present and discuss how the value of passenger rail is being articulated and measured in both countries, reaffirming the social and economic role that passenger rail plays by connecting cities and enhancing their attractiveness and resilience.
There will be a reception following the event featuring sushi and sake.
What began with a gift in 1912 at the Tidal Basin is now a four-week extravaganza spanning Washington, DC, and neighboring communities in Maryland and Virginia. From exciting events to convenient hotels, delectable Cherry Picks restaurants to, vibrant Art in Bloom installations, and a jaw-dropping City in Bloom to joyful Petal Porches, see the Washington, DC area as you can only see it once a year!
Join a discussion about First Lady Helen Taft and travel writer Eliza Scidmore, whose collaboration a century ago led to Tokyo gifting Washington D.C. with flowering cherry trees. Moderator Ann McClellan, and speakers Patricia Taft and Diana Parsell will provide unique family perspectives and research findings, creating an insightful and engaging conversation with audience participation encouraged.
What began with a gift in 1912 at the Tidal Basin is a four-week extravaganza spanning Washington, DC, and neighboring communities in Maryland and Virginia. From exciting events to convenient hotels, delectable Cherry Picks restaurants, vibrant Art in Bloom installations, and a jaw-dropping City in Bloom to joyful Petal Porches, see the Washington, DC area, as you can only see it once a year!
As a continuation of the Global Seminar, the symposium theme is multilayered and extensive people-to-people exchanges, which is an important perspective for building a new dimension of U.S.-Japan relations. The seminar aims to reconsider the significance of rebuilding and strengthening U.S.-Japan people-to-people exchanges to a new and higher dimension post-COVID. This hybrid symposium will be held virtually and in person in Washington D.C. and has invited speakers who are knowledgeable about U.S.-Japan relations, international people-to-people exchange, and tourism.
Opening Remarks
Masafumi Shukuri
Chairman, Japan International Transport and Tourism Institute, USA (JITTI)
Chairman, Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute (JTTRI)
Greetings by Guest of Honor
Koji Tomita
Ambassador of Japan to the United States
Keynote Speeches
J. Thomas Schieffer
Former Ambassador of the United States to Japan
Takashi Shiraishi
President, Kumamoto Prefectural University
Former President, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
Lectures
Kent Calder
Director, Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
Satoshi Seino
President, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)
Panel Discussion
Panelists
Mark Keam
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Travel and Tourism, Industry and Analysis,
United States Department of Commerce
Koichi Ai
Minister (General Affairs, Public Information, and Culture), Embassy of Japan in the U.S.
Kazuyo Kato
Executive Director, Japan Center for International Exchange, USA (JCIE USA)
Moderator
Kent Calder, Director
Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
What began with a gift in 1912 at the Tidal Basin is a four-week extravaganza spanning Washington, DC, and neighboring communities in Maryland and Virginia. From exciting events to convenient hotels, delectable Cherry Picks restaurants, vibrant Art in Bloom installations, and a jaw-dropping City in Bloom to joyful Petal Porches, see the Washington, DC area, as you can only see it once a year!
Japanese garden design is an art from thousands of years in the making. Stone, gravel, water, bridges, paths and plants all hold significance. Whether you are looking to make your own Japanese style garden or simply want to learn to appreciate the elemental meanings, this virtual program with horticulturalist Bevan Shimizu and Green Spring Gardens teaches you the essentials in creating a Japanese style garden.
Two Japanese designers—Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto —revolutionized the fashion industry by abandoning tradition and staying true their own artistic visions. Watch two short films on YouTube about the designers on your own prior to the program, then join curator Lee Talbot for a discussion of their career and influence.
About the Films
The old guard of fashion despised her; the critics never understood her. But for Rei Kawakubo, founder of the renowned fashion label Comme des Garcons, that was always the point. Kawakubo eschewed conventional standards of beauty, ushering in a new era of anti-fashion. (Fashion Industry Broadcast, 30 minutes.)
Yohji Yamamoto’s innovation has led to groundbreaking collaborations and pop culture moments, such as reinventing Dr.Martens and dressing entertainment icons fromTina Turner to Elton John. His trailblazing Y-3 range with street-sports giant Adidas paved the way for the now billion-dollar athleisure industry. (Fashion Industry Broadcast, 30 minutes.)
About Lee Talbot
Lee Talbot joined The Textile Museum as a curator in 2007, specializing in East Asian textiles. He has curated numerous exhibitions and published catalogues, articles, and textbook chapters. Talbot was previously curator at the Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum in Seoul, Korea. He has a bachelor’s from Rhodes College, MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and master’s from Bard Graduate Center.
Post viewing discussion led by Jasmine Helm and Joy Davis from the fashion podcast Unravel about two short films featuring contemporary Japanese fashion designers Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto.
Join the Sake Brewers Association of North America’s premier launch of an animated video exploring the wonders of sake, followed by a lively panel discussion with next-generation sake brewers and professionals.
Immerse yourself in the history and culture of sakura with a new video series from the Library of Congress: Cherry Blossom Viewing over the Centuries. Three short videos highlight Cherry Blossoms in Japanese Culture,Tokyo’s Gift of Friendship, and Fleeting Beauty, Enduring Traditions.
Sakura Sunday at National Harbor will feature a wide array of free cultural activities including Japanese inspired art creation, culinary classes, in person or virtual, and much more to be announced.
More to come soon!
Southern Avenue
Schedule a free online tour for your group of five or more adults. These live, interactive tours feature high-resolution images of artworks and provide an opportunity to engage in conversation with the museum’s docents.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the beauty of nature and international friendship through year-round programs, events, and educational initiatives that enhance our environment, showcase arts and culture, and build community spirit.
