Kobe: Petals Starting To Fall

After a very enjoyable day reporting from Onomichi where I found the blossoms still looking very beautiful but nearing the end of best viewing, I today visited three sites in and around Kobe to see how things were progressing there.

In a bit of a turnaround from my last couple of days on the road, today turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, with enjoyable blossoms at all three spots despite the season beginning to wind down - with the exception of the Sumaura Sanjo Yuen Park where higher elevation has slowed things down by a day or two, petals are beginning to pile up on the ground and branches beginning to visibly thin out, making it clear that time is quickly running out to get an enjoyable viewing experience.

I began my day at Sumaura, a seaside park to the southwest of the city center with around 1000 cherry blossom trees. While still pleasant to look at, the blossoms here were already noticeably past their peak, with many already entirely without petals. From here on, just 1-2 days remain to catch the end of the season here.

After exploring the park, I took a quick detour up the nearby ropeway to the Sumaura Sanjo Yuen Park, a quaint little amusement park located close to the peak of nearby Mount Hachibusa, with some spectacular views out across the city and Osaka Bay. Here the blossoms were still just in full bloom, with at most 1-2 days remaining to enjoy them at their best before they too begin to decline.

Moving on from Sumaura, my second stop today was at Shukugawa Park, a pleasant riverside park stretching 2.8 kilometers along the Shukugawa River and a popular cherry blossom viewing spot among locals in Kobe's neighboring city of Nishinomiya. Out of all the spots I visited so far this season this was by far the most festive - with lots of people to be seen enjoying picnics or snapping pictures.

Here, the overall look of the blossom was just slightly fuller and more attractive than at Sumaura's ground level park, with the fullest branches generally to be found towards the northern end. That being said, the blossoms are clearly beginning to disappear with just a few days remaining to enjoy the last of the season.

My final stop of the day was along the Mukogawa Cherry Blossom Corridor, a double row of cherry blossom trees following the Mukogawa River north from Sanda City. This was another satisfying visit, with the blossom perhaps a day behind Shukugawa and looking slightly fresher, albeit with green leaves beginning to show through and petals beginning to shed.

Along with Sumaura Sanjo Yuen Park, this could be an excellent option for visitors in the Kansai Region looking for a scenic spot to soak up some last views of the blossom for a few more days.