This private house in rural Japan has become a tourist spectacle, mostly due to the gorgeous flowers that bloom there every year and mainly because of the incredibly beautiful love story behind everything.
Mr. and Mrs. Kuroki got married in 1956 and lived happily as dairy farmers, raising two children in a small town in southern Japan.
At 52, after 30 years of marriage, Mrs. Kuroki lost her eyesight from diabetes-related complications. Depressed, as one would be when they suddenly cannot see our beautiful world anymore, she withdrew into the family home and isolated herself.
Mr. Kuroki was determined to find a way to make his sad wife smile again. He noticed some shibazakura flowers in his garden, and realized that you don’t actually need sight in order to enjoy the scent of flowers.
So he spent two years planting the pink blossoms on every inch of their land, in essence creating a fragrant flower garden that his wife could enjoy.
And, soon Mrs. Kuroki began to enjoy the outside world again!
And it’s not just this adorable couple who get to enjoy the flower garden.
Up to 7,000 tourists a day come to see the shibazakura in bloom from March to April.
And hope to hear the Kuroki’s heartwarming tale first-hand.
Mr. Kuroki still works hard to maintain his enormous flower garden.
And Mrs. Kuroki can’t stop smiling.
You can watch more of Mr. and Mrs. Kuroki’s story below.
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