When Little Big Red Dot received an invite to the launch of the Sakura Floral Display at Gardens by the Bay, it was only fitting that Kevin and myself attended the event. The two of us are going to Japan with our families in the very near future. Kevin will be heading to Japan in early April just to be there for the Sakura blossoming season whereas I will be there in June.
I actually cannot remember the last time I visited Gardens by the Bay. It always came across as a tourist spot. One where the locals like me would not frequent. Singapore itself is already filled to the brim with plants. Why is there a need to go to a man made garden that is, in my opinion, made as a showcase to the rest of the world of what Singapore can do.
The Sakura Floral Display is located in the Flower Dome. There is the area at Gardens by the Bay where it is free to the public and there are areas where an entrance fee is required. The Flower Dome requires an entrance fee.
According to my tour guide for the day, Kevin, this is a larger than usual crowd.
This is the calendar of events for March 2024. On the 30th and 31st of March there is an Anime Garden theme happening. There will be cosplayers and live band performances. Apparently some band who sang a song from the hit Anime series One Piece will be performing. That was what we were told at the opening event.
Security was a little bit tighter. Minister Indranee Rajah is going to be at the launch event.
The media were required to assemble at the Flower Field Hall at level 3, just opposite Shake Shack. Seriously I never knew there was a Shake Shack at this location.
Honestly, who came up with the name for this hall?
The view from the link bridge to the Flower Field Hall provided a nice overhead view of the Flower Dome.
Oh the Flower Field Hall was all decked out for the event.
So apparently this is a very significant event. One of Gardens by the Bay’s most iconic displays.
Oh and this dude had his game face on. There was a drum performance by this group Hibikaya. Japanese drum performances are called Taiko aren’t they?
Well of course there were Japanese at this event.
The crowd was filled with guests from a wide array of nationalities, some VIPs and the media. I am impressed that there were guests in kimonos.
VIPs were in the house. Hopefully the Japanese did feel like this display of sakuras matched up to those back in Japan.
This was an interesting performance with loads of gusto. It got me wanting to play Taiko no Tatsujin on my Nintendo Switch. I’ve got to say, generally, the Japanese do put in a great deal of effort in whatever they do. This was no exception.
At the end of the speeches and performance, we had our chance to see the sakuras. This was just before this was open to the public.
Nice close up shots of the flowers. The main plats on display are the cherry and peach blossoms
While the area displaying the sakura flowers was not large, it was done up very nicely.
There was a tea preparation and mochi making display and an Aikido performance. However, clearly the crowd was not here for this. But for the whole month, there will be other Japan influenced events happening at Gardens by the Bay. You can find more information about the events happening at Gardens by the Bay at this link: https://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/things-to-do/calendar-of-events/sakura-2024.html
While the event was in the late afternoon, the real treat, in my opinion, is viewing the flowers at night. This is what the Japanese call hanami which translates to “flower viewing at night”. This is when the flowers are lit up with the use of temporary paper lanterns or decorative electric lanterns. I must say that Gardens by the Bay did put in quite a large amount of effort to try and replicate the look that one would get when viewing the sakuras in Japan itself.
It was absolutely stunning. While it was nothing too large scale, it was clear that a great deal of effort and planning went into this.
Is this something to visit? Yes! most definitely. It is exceptionally cool and refreshing in the evening. Did not want to leave but I had to go home for dinner.
This is an excellent precursor for my trip to Japan in June.
Sakura – Blossom into the night
Date: Friday 22nd March 2024 to Sunday 21st April 2024
Time: 9 am to 9 pm
Location: Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay
