When it comes to famous cherry blossom spots in Tokyo, Ueno Park is particularly well-known, but the cherry blossoms at Yanaka Cemetery, which is nearby, are also one of the famous spots. The central pathway (Sakura Street) with the five-story pagoda ruins park forms a tunnel of cherry blossoms, and the fallen petals accumulate on the path, creating a pink carpet-like scenery. There are also scattered cherry trees within the cemetery. Since this is fundamentally a cemetery, the surroundings are very quiet.

 Even when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, only viewing is allowed—parties are prohibited. Well, it is a cemetery, after all. My memory is a bit vague, but I feel like I may have seen people having a party here a long time ago. Since it was a long time ago, I don’t remember clearly, but I think there were people sitting on the ground eating and drinking. Even though it is a cemetery. In any case, parties are prohibited now.

 The following is a little story that has nothing to do with cherry blossoms but happened during my many visits to Yanaka Cemetery.
 One day, I learned somewhere that the grave of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the 15th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, was located in Yanaka Cemetery. Since it was close to my home, I thought I should visit it at least once, so I went to the cemetery. When I arrived, I found that the cemetery was surprisingly large and contained many graves of notable figures. Yoshinobu’s grave was not particularly prominent, so I had no idea where it was. However, the cemetery was thoughtfully equipped with guide boards in various locations, indicating where different notable figures’ graves were. Using these, I walked in the direction where Yoshinobu’s grave was supposed to be.
 Even so, once inside the cemetery, it was like a maze, and I couldn’t reach my destination easily. I wandered around places I hadn’t intended to visit. As I continued walking, I saw a cat crouching at a crossroads ahead. The cat wasn’t looking directly at me, but it faced my direction and meowed. At that moment, I felt slightly uneasy. But in Tokyo, seeing a cat isn’t unusual, so I didn’t think much of it and kept walking. At the crossroads, I turned left. Just then, something dashed past my right side at an incredible speed,
（Tatata!）
crossing right in front of me and crouching again slightly ahead on the left. It was the same cat. Once again, it faced me and began meowing more forcefully. It was clearly trying to tell me something. It felt as if it was warning me not to proceed any further. Perhaps it was simply defending its territory, but given that this was a cemetery, and the sun was beginning to set, the atmosphere became eerie. I started to feel as if something supernatural might be there, even though I couldn’t see anything. I got scared and decided to turn back the way I had come. That day, I didn’t get to see Yoshinobu’s grave. I came back on another day and, this time, reached it without any issues.