I am currently leading my annual cross-country Cherry Blossom photography workshop. For the following few days, participants and I will be in Niigata prefecture sampling Japan’s most prized sake from a prefecture with an amount of distilleries that rivals the stars in the sky. And some of Niigata’s sake is so smooth, it’s like fragrant and refreshing water with a whisper of sweetness. You don’t even realize you’re drinking sake until the fifth or sixth cup. Soon after participants understand the apparently ‘weak sweet water’ sake is actually a hallmark of its high quality, but let me get back to photography. Takada Castle in Joetsu is in the Top 10 illuminated Cherry Blossoms throughout Japan. The castle grounds are home to Niigata Prefecture’s most prized cherry blossoms, numbering over 4,000 cherry blossom trees. There are various varieties such as: Somei yoshino (Prunus yedoensis) the most widely cultivated sakura, Yamazakura (Prunus jamasakura) the wild varietal with more than five petals, and the Shidarezakura (Prunus pendula) or the weeping variety. At any angle you can photograph cherry blossoms and the castle spectacularly giving you unforgettable gallery worthy images. Niigata prefecture is rich in ancient cherry blossom trees, and one reason is the lack of pesticides used on the sakura trees year to year. Kemushi (caterpillars) love to cocoon in the cherry blossom trees, and they hatch during spring, and some hatch during cherry blossom blooming time, and some after the cherry blossom flowers have fluttered away in the wind. These caterpillars can cause skin problems such as rashes and itchiness. You do not need direct contact with them; the kemushi hairs fly in the wind and attach to human skin and/or eyes like a micro sliver, but if you come into direct contact with these insects, a much more troubling reaction may occur. And this is why in the Tokyo-Kanto region of Japan and other urban centers, insecticides are sprayed to control their population. Unfortunately, sparrows, and other birds and large insects, small mammals, and reptiles feed on these caterpillars, and the sparrow population in the Tokyo region has declined by over 70%, including other species that feed on the kemushi. Meanwhile in Niigata, there is a healthy population of sparrows and other species that feed on the kemushi. Some of these bird species are endemic to Japan, and some are migratory, so the majority of cherry blossom trees do not need to be sprayed, as the wildlife naturally devoured these caterpillars and other insects. Across the land facing the Sea of Japan there are ancient cherry blossom trees that have never been touched by insecticides where there are flocks of Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus), warbling white-eye (Zosterops japonicus), also known as the Japanese white-eye or Mejiro, and Brown-eared Bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis) that feed on cherry blossoms. The birds take care of the pest monitoring, giving them much-needed healthy organic sustenance instead of having to use pesticides and upsetting the natural balance. Join me on my annual cross-country cherry blossom photo tour. As a naturalist, I appreciate being able to visit and photograph healthy, ancient trees. Plus the younger trees have a chance of becoming ancient.