I have previously filmed videos focusing on rainy days and the tranquility of nights, mainly in the Setouchi region.
The video I'm introducing today4K HDR | Rain Sounds ASMR | A Rainy Walk Under Sakura Trees | Midnight Kobe, Japan | Binaural Soundsis a work I released titled "
You can enjoy the beautiful HDR footage of rain falling in the middle of the night and cherry blossoms in full bloom.
"Late-night cherry blossoms" that I couldn't capture in Kagawa Prefecture
In regional cities like Kagawa Prefecture, where I live, there are few lights that illuminate the entire city late at night, so even when cherry blossoms are in bloom, there are hardly any places where you can take pictures at night.
Even if there are some well-lit places, theyare often paid, have limited entry times, or are off-limits at night.
It's a rare and precious moment when it rains on a spring night while the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.
I was intently gazing at a map of the Setouchi region, searching for a place where I could photograph it.
Ikuta River, Kobe, found on a map
Amidst all of that, what caught my eyethe row of cherry trees blooming along the Ikuta River in front of Shin-Kobe Stationwas
Kobe is a city in the Kansai region with abundant nighttime lights, and the city lights never cease even late at night.
I thought that if it rained in Kobe at night, I could capture both the cherry blossoms and the rain beautifully on video.
Late-night photography while chasing rain clouds
The photo was taken on March 27, 2025.
It was around the time when the cherry blossoms were beginning to bloom due to a sudden warm spell at the end of March.
I arrived in Kobe, but it wasn't raining constantly, so Ipatiently waiting through the night, checking the weather radar for a break in the rainended up
At the moment when the rain finally began to fall quietly, the cherry blossom petals and the sound of the rain blended beautifully, creating a beautiful scene as if time had stopped.
Kobe has memories
Actually, I attended a vocational school in Kobe for two years, and lived in Hyogo Prefecture for a total of seven years.
Because of this, I'm familiar with the area and naturally knew which roads were safe even late at night and where the cherry blossoms were.
It was a nostalgic and joyful experience to be able to pick up my camera again in Kobe after such a long time.
The "freedom" I felt in the city late at night
After finishing filming, I opened my laptop on the side of the road and checked the footage while waiting for the rain to start again.
Strangely,no one seemed to notice me. In smaller towns, you might get strange looks for doing something like thatso
late at night, but in a big city, no one interferes, and everyone goes about their own business.
Perhaps that "freedom" is the charm of the city.
Kobe's night lights captured in HDR
This video4K HDRwas shot in
The colors of the rain-soaked asphalt, the reflections of streetlights, the lights of the buildings, and the wet cherry blossom petals are reproduced with the three-dimensionality and depth unique to HDR.
Please enjoy the tranquility of Kobe at night and the gentle beauty of the cherry blossoms.
comment