April 22nd -The big day arrives! The SakuraMori winners wake up early and dress in their spiffiest outfits. A short bus ride takes them to the site of the tree planting ceremony.

The 5 winners waiting with Kakuda-san, a real life Keiji Warrior 😉

And the children arrive! 100 students from local elementary schools in Fukushima.

After a speech by the Governor of Fukushima, everyone grabs a spade…

Heave-ho!

… And a new Sakura Tree is planted!!

Young & old, artists & editors, actresses & politicians… Everyone lends a hand to make the future brighter!

After the tree planting ceremony, everyone retires to a nearby building, where another surprise is waiting…

Ta-DAH! The Winners reveal their giant collaboration picture… but its not yet complete…

Each of the children grab a paper Sakura flower and paste it on the tree…

The need some help to get to those hard to reach places 😉

And finally, it’s finished!! The fruit of everyone’s efforts!

Finally, its time to say goodbye to the kids. But everyone gets a copy of the SakuraMori Manga, and a high-five on the way out!

The big event is over, but the trip is far from done! See Day 4: Tour of Fukushima.