Kumamoto: Approaching Full Bloom

Following on from yesterday's report from Kyoto where the cherry blossom trees were still a few days from reaching full bloom, I today found myself in Kumamoto to check in on two of the city's most beloved viewing spots.

Despite overcast skies and a few bursts of rain, it was a nice change to find the blossoms teetering on the edge of full bloom, with just a little more time needed for them to reach their best. Overall, I expect the best viewing experience to begin from tomorrow.

As well as being the city's symbol and most iconic sight, Kumamoto Castle is also a fantastic cherry blossom viewing area thanks to the many trees dotted throughout its grounds. Starting with the trees lining the river that once served as the castle's defensive moat, I took a circuitous route around the grounds before making my way inside the paid area, where the temporary elevated walkway - built to allow visitors to bypass important ongoing reconstruction work from the earthquakes that devastated the castle in 2016 - made for some very satisfying views of the castle's main tower and a row of cherry blossoms below.

Despite some very attractive scenes, I still felt that the trees throughout the grounds had a little more to offer, with another day to wait until the peak viewing period can truly begin.

My second stop was at Suizenji, a beautiful landscape garden arranged around a central pond with several very attractive clusters of cherry blossom trees. Here, despite the trees looking overall a touch more advanced than those at the castle and some scattered petals underfoot - likely a result of the rain - I still felt that optimal viewing will begin from tomorrow.