Yesterday I came across an app called “AR Hanami”. Checking this word on Google yields that “Hanami” means “flower viewing” in Japanese and it’s the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, especially referring to the blossom of cherry or those of plum trees.
Here in Seoul, South Korea, we expect the cheery to blossom between 6 to 13 of April (yep, only for one week). I am already planning to go to the Yeouido Spring Flower Festival at Yeouiseo-ro Street. I’ve heard that the best place to view it is on Jeju Island, as well in Jinhae Gunhangje and Busan in the southern part of the country.
Anyways, this brings me to talk about that app. Using this augmented reality app you get to see cherry blossoms without being where those flowers blossom, without growing those tree yourself or without waiting for the exact time when the blossom.
As I wait for the real cherry blossom to take place here in South Korea (I might also see it in Tokyo Japan, but we’ll see), I thought it would be nice to test and see how cherry blossom can look like in certain parts of the city.
If it was another flower blossom I probably wouldn’t bother downloading it, but because I was told about the cherry blossoms and got to see that blossom in Kyoto (came early to early warm weather I guess), I got excited about this cherry blossom thing and I wanted to see how this blossom looks in augmented reality.
I can tell you that after seeing those beautiful trees in Kyoto with their beautiful pinkish flowers, I can learn to appreciate it when I see it in AR.
I went out today especially to try out this app outdoors. For some reason, the iPad didn’t record the videos with external voice, so I’m sorry for that. Anyways, let’s check out the video I’ve recorded early today. As you can see, AR Critic got very courageous today and pass the river especially to get a good footage (honestly, I could have done it by crossing the bridge to the other side but don’t tell anyone that there was a safer shortcut, it made me look stupid 🙂 ).
Here is another photo of cherry blossom in Japan. The picture was taken near Kyoto Imperial Palace in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.
Let’s check out some pictures that I’ve taken using the app of cherry blossom in Seoul (taken on March 27th, 2018).
Here is a picture of before using the app and after using the AR Hanami app.
Here are more pictures.
What can I tell you, the real thing is way better than the augmented reality one, but I liked the falling leaves effect, that made the AR cherry blossom quite interesting and had a calming effect to it.
Well, I hope you enjoy this cherry blossom special edition post. I’m sure going to get more pictures of the cherry blossom here in Seoul or at another area if I decide to go there. No doubt, those flowers are so beautiful when they bloom. I really enjoy seeing them in Japan, and I can’t wait to experience it again at its peak here in South Korea.
Download AR AR Hanami app free from the App Store for iOS here.