{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-c03aa079.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-517835be.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Park visitors marvel at cherry blossoms gifted by Japan' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c1d6d8eafeecae15535f' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c1d6d8eafeecae15535f' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nPark visitors marvel at cherry blossoms gifted by Japan\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eCherry blossom trees gifted by Japan more than a century ago are impressing visitors at a park in Washington DC. They form the centrepiece of the city's annual Spring Festival. Cherry blossoms as far as the eye can see in Washington's...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eCherry blossom trees gifted by Japan more than a century ago are impressing visitors at a park in Washington DC. \u003cbr/\u003eThey form the centrepiece of the city's annual Spring Festival. \u003cbr/\u003eCherry blossoms as far as the eye can see in Washington's West Potomac Park.\u003cbr/\u003eAs the city basks in the sunshine, these trees have reached their full colourful bloom - bursting with pink and white flowers. \u003cbr/\u003eThree-thousand Yoshino trees were given to the city by Tokyo more than a century ago. \u003cbr/\u003eThey usually bloom for up to ten days.\u003cbr/\u003e\"I love it. I lived in Japan for a while, we're Navy and that's when I fell in love with the cherry blossoms,\" says visitor Angelica Alvarez, from Annandale, Virginia.\u003cbr/\u003e\"And so I like to come down here, if I can, by myself, or with a friend, or with my family and look at all the monuments and just enjoy it. It's really beautiful.\"\u003cbr/\u003eThis year's peak bloom has come slightly later than normal because of cold weather in March. \u003cbr/\u003e\"We did have a rather long and harsh cold winter. That delayed things for the trees. It doesn't actually harm them, cause any damage to them, but what it does is it slows them up,\" says Brian Hall from the National Park Service.\u003cbr/\u003e\"They just don't wake up until the soil starts to get warmer, and that actually produces all the enzymes inside the tree that causes the blooms to come out.\"\u003cbr/\u003eThe average date for blooming since 1992 has been 31 March.\u003cbr/\u003eLast year they reached peak bloom on 9 April. \u003cbr/\u003eThe trees bloomed as late as 18 April in 1958. \u003cbr/\u003e\"The Japanese really did a special... really special thing for Washington, DC by giving us these great trees. And I've been coming here since I was a little girl, and it's been six decades... and I'm still excited,\" says Washington resident Marie Drissel.\u003cbr/\u003eIn 1981, the cycle of giving came full circle.  \u003cbr/\u003eJapanese horticulturists were given cuttings from the trees to replace some cherry trees in Japan.\u003cbr/\u003e\"The valley where these original trees came from suffered a major flood and it wiped out most of the cherry trees there, so we took cultivations of the trees and sent them back,\" says Hall.\u003cbr/\u003eAdmiration for the cherry blossoms among Washington residents and tourists mirrors how the Japanese feel about the bloom and the arrival of spring.\u003cbr/\u003eThis year marks the 102nd anniversary of the gift of the cherry blossom trees from Japan - presented as a symbol of friendship.\u003cbr/\u003e\"I think Japan and US share a great deal in common, including values such as democracy, human rights. This is at the very foundation of Japan-US alliance in a way,\" says Masato Otaka, from the Japanese Embassy.\u003cbr/\u003eToday, more than 1.5 million people visit Washington, DC, each year to admire the blossoms.  \u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eWashington DC - 11 April 2014\u003cbr/\u003e1. Close-up of sun shining through cherry blossom trees\u003cbr/\u003e2. Wide of cherry blossoms and tidal basin\u003cbr/\u003e3. Mid of trees \u003cbr/\u003e4. Close-up of cherry blossom flowers \u003cbr/\u003e5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Angelica Alvarez, from Annandale, Virginia, Vox pop:\u003cbr/\u003e\"I love it. I lived in Japan for a while, we're Navy and that's when I fell in love with the cherry blossoms. And so I like to come down here, if I can, by myself, or with a friend, or with my family and look at all the monuments and just enjoy it. It's really beautiful.\"\u003cbr/\u003e6. Close-up of woman taking photograph\u003cbr/\u003e7. Wide of people in paddle boats, cherry blossoms in background \u003cbr/\u003e8. Close-up of cherry blossom\u003cbr/\u003e9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mark Korczakowski, Baltimore, Maryland, Vox pop:\u003cbr/\u003e\"We just decided this yesterday, somebody suggested it at work. It's beautiful. I mean, blue skies, the sun, cherry blossoms all seem like they're at their peak.\"\u003cbr/\u003e10. Tilt up from water to trees\u003cbr/\u003e11. Wide of people walking under cherry blossoms \u003cbr/\u003e12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Brian Hall, National Park Service:\u003cbr/\u003e\"We did have a rather long and harsh cold winter. That delayed things for the trees. It doesn't actually harm them, cause any damage to them, but what it does is it slows them up. They just don't wake up until the soil starts to get warmer, and that actually produces all the enzymes inside the tree that causes the blooms to come out.\"\u003cbr/\u003e13. Mid of people walking on path next to trees \u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eWashington DC - March 2014, exact date unknown\u003cbr/\u003e14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Masato Otaka, Spokesman, Japanese Embassy:\u003cbr/\u003e\"Cherry blossom is something that we celebrate every year because we do have long winters just as you do in the United States, in the north part of the United States, of course. We all have... It's not an easy time.  And we always look forward to the arrival of spring.\"\u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eWashington DC - 11 April 2014\u003cbr/\u003e15. Mid of woman taking photo\u003cbr/\u003e16. Mid of girl playing amid cherry trees\u003cbr/\u003e17. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mallory Mpare, from Washington DC, Vox pop:\u003cbr/\u003e\"I think it's the energy of having all these other folks here... a lot of tourists come, so it's nice to see like that new energy in the city. It's also like the mark of the Spring, so we've lasted through a kind of treacherous winter, so to see like those glimpses of hope.\"\u003cbr/\u003e18. Mid of man taking photo of people near cherry trees\u003cbr/\u003e19. Mid of women looking at camera and photo\u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eWashington DC - March 2014, exact date unknown\u003cbr/\u003e20. SOUNDBITE: (English) Masato Otaka, Spokesman, Japanese Embassy:\u003cbr/\u003e\"You can enjoy the cherry blossoms after it blooms for maybe four or five days, or maybe for a week, but it goes away very, very quickly. But I think that's the way it is with nature. It will arrive and we will enjoy it, but it will not stay forever, and it will eventually go away.\"\u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eWashington DC - 11 April 2014\u003cbr/\u003e21. Tilt up from cherry blossoms to Jefferson Memorial\u003cbr/\u003e22. SOUNDBITE: (English) Phu Dui, from Sacramento, California, Vox pop:\u003cbr/\u003e\"You have to really cherish it because these cherry blossoms last such a short time, so you have to be here real quick.  It does signify warmer weather, maybe I'm not saying slower days, but just warmer weather.\"\u003cbr/\u003e23. Wide of artist painting scene by tidal basin\u003cbr/\u003e24. Close-up of artist's paintbrush\u003cbr/\u003e25. SOUNDBITE: (English) Marie Drissel, from Washington DC, Vox pop:\u003cbr/\u003e\"The Japanese really did a special... really special thing for Washington, DC by giving us these great trees. And I've been coming here since I was a little girl, and it's been six decades... and I'm still excited.\"\u003cbr/\u003e26. Wide of people next to trees \u003cbr/\u003e27. Close-up of cherry blossom\u003cbr/\u003e28. Close-up of plaque commemorating original gift of cherry trees to the US\u003cbr/\u003e29. Tilt up on Japanese lantern monument in original grove of trees gifted to the US from Japan\u003cbr/\u003e30. Wide of people walking around monument\u003cbr/\u003e31. SOUNDBITE: (English) Brian Hall, Spokesman, National Park Service:\u003cbr/\u003e\"The valley where these original trees came from suffered a major flood and it wiped out most of the cherry trees there, so we took cultivations of the trees and sent them back, so they could replant the valley where the original trees came from because they are the same stock.\"  \u003cbr/\u003e32. Zoom in on bride with family and photographer near Japanese lantern\u003cbr/\u003e33. Mid of bride\u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eWashington DC - March 2014, exact date unknown\u003cbr/\u003e34. SOUNDBITE: (English) Masato Otaka, Spokesman, Japanese Embassy:\u003cbr/\u003e\"I think Japan and US share a great deal in common, including values such as democracy, human rights. This is at the very foundation of Japan-US alliance in a way.\"\u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eWashington DC - 11 April 2014\u003cbr/\u003e35. Mid of man taking photographs\u003cbr/\u003e36. Pull focus of cherry blossoms\u003cbr/\u003e37. SOUNDBITE: (English) Marie Drissel, from Washington DC, Vox pop:\u003cbr/\u003e\"It's beautiful at night, it's beautiful early in the morning, in the afternoon, it's just fabulous. A lot of history, you learn a lot, and it's beautiful.\"\u003cbr/\u003e38. 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