Sardines Mimic Cherry Blossoms at Yokohama Aquarium

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:44 JST, March 24, 2023

Schools of some 50,000 sardines are lit up inside a large tank at the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama on Thursday. The pink illumination is intended to make the sardines resemble cherry blossoms or their petals blown off by the wind at this seasonal attraction, called “Super Iwashi Illusion: Oka Ranbu” (Super sardine illusion: A mad dance of cherry blossoms). Accompanied by music, the fish swim through the 8-meter-tall tank in all directions, sometimes in one big mass and sometimes dispersed to swim as they please. “It’s amazing, the sardines move in sync with the music and illumination,” said company employee Naoko Takekuma, 51, who visited the aquarium from Tsushima, Aichi Prefecture. The event runs through April 16.