Hello Everybody!
Today was a beautiful day! It was supposed to rain all weekend, but most of the day we had beautiful blue skies! Welcome to my Kyoto cherry blossom report for today!
Today, I started off by going past the the Kamogawa River in Kyoto. You cans see the sakura lining the eastern bank of the river in full bloom, now. This is the view from the bridge at Shijo-dori, in Gion. You can see that our day started out gray and cloudy, but then look at the sky when we got to Arashiyama!
We walked along the scenic Hozugawa River and across the famous Togetsukyo Bridge, in Arashiyama. Then we went through one of my favorite places, Tenryu-ji Temple, and the gardens, there.
You can seen in this picture, in front of the temple, one of the many varieties of sakura that are blooming, now. Many sakura are at their peak, now, but don’t worry! There are also many species of late blooming sakura that are just starting to bloom. We still have a few weeks of gorgeous flowers to see around Kyoto!
Joe went to Yawata City, today, just outside of the Kyoto Prefecture border, in Osaka-fu. This is his favorite place to see sakura in Japan!
Arashiyama District
Arashiyama is one of the most popular places in Kyoto to go to see sakura in the spring, and autumn leaves in the fall. The mountain sides along the Hozugawa River are covered with both maple and cherry trees.
There are many wonderful temples and gardens in Arashiyama. It is also a great place to walk along the river and watch the boats being pole-driven up and down the river. The world-famous giant bamboo forest is here, too. I love Arashiyama!
Tenryu-ji Temple
Tenryu-ji Temple is not far from the river. The wooden temple buildings here are magnificent. There is also a large koi pond next to one of the halls that is part of a very large garden that spreads across the hillside. I go here several times a year to see the garden in its different seasons.
Sakura are even beautiful after their peak, when their petals are falling. In the garden, you can see cherry blossom petals everywhere! I think they look lovely spread across the moss, and on the surface of the pond.
Sewari-tei Riverbank Park, Yawata-shi, Osaka
Sewari-tei Riverbank Park is an amazing place to see sakura. It is a park that runs along the river bank between two rivers, the Uji River and the Kizu River. Just past the park, these two rivers join the Yodogawa River on its way from Kyoto to Osaka. The park is located in Yawata-shi, on the Keihan Line.
The park has a long path on top of an embankment that is lined on both sides with 250 huge, very old, cherry trees. The path is over a kilometer long, and the sakura trees form a tunnel of pink and white over your head the whole way! Wow! It is such an wonderful place to see at this time of year!
Below the walkway, is a very large grassy area where many people spread their tarps and light their bar-be-ques to celebrate hamani. It is quite tame here compared with some other hanami spots. Maybe because it is a little ways from the big city, it is mostly families, here. It is not as noisy with heavy drinking parties as you can find in some popular hanami spots in the big cities. It is a such a nice place to go hang out under the cherry trees!
Today, it was the peak. A few petals are starting to fall, but for the most part, the blossoms are at their finest. In the next few days, it will start to “snow” with sakura petals (“hana no yuki” in Japanese). The air becomes filled with pink and white petals drifting in the wind. Don’t worry if you miss the peak here by a few days, it is still very beautiful when it is snowing sakura petals!
That’s everything for today. It was another great day in Kyoto, and nearby!
We’ll talk to you, tomorrow!
Bua and Joe
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