Floral culture takes a front seat during spring in Japan. For starters, consumers are slammed with sakura-themed choices at convenience stores and shops. Some crossovers seem to make sense—a cherry blossom Frappucino or a sakura rice cake snack. On the other hand, its the cherry blossom beers and sakura tacos I’m not so sure about.

Hanamikuji

Yet, surprise, surprise, there are more than just cherry blossoms blooming in Japan. A tulip garden in Chiba prefecture continued its tulip festival this year after canceling during COVID. The event hosts over 300,000 blooming tulips. Yet, a more unique exhibit recently occurred in Kyoto.

Japanese Twitter users flocked to Hana Mikuji, an event that Nake Inc. hosted. Twitterer Hue (@huetrpg) was particularly impressed with the event and posted several images of the beautifully made creations:

Temple goers in Japan often receive fortunes, called omikuji, written on small pieces of paper. Depending on the fortuitousness of the omen, some may leave their fortunes tied to pieces of wire fencing at the temple. At the hanamikuji event, fortunes came attached to the extravagantly designed origami flowers.

Hanamikuji flowers were also displayed in a vase where unlucky users could fasten their unneeded fortunes.

Homemade origami

In Japan, residents have several options available to them when choosing to decorate their homes. Those inspired by events like hanamikuji may be interested in creating their own origami bouquets.

YouTuber Tsuku Cafe has them covered. The vlogger's channel focuses on perfecting the arts and crafts centered around origami. Her videos are simple and easy to follow. As an unintended bonus, the calm manner in which she works lends itself to a relaxing, incidental ASMR effect. Her origami tulip video is widely popular. See why for yourself:

Indeed, this tulip video is easy to follow. Viewers simply need a few items:

All the project takes is a few folds, a dab of glue, and a little patience. The wooden stick can also be used to curl the plant's petals to make for a nice effect.

Tsuku Cafe also posted a video making origami roses which also received a large number of views.

Once again, only a few everyday items are needed:

While this video arguably involves a bit more craftsmanship, it is still relatively straightforward. After the petals of the rose are made, essentially, only a few snips and some glue are needed.

Readers interested in diving in deeper should check out Tsuku Cafe’s YouTube channel for more content. Enjoy