Kyoto: Just Opened

Two days on from Cassie's report from Tokyo where the blossoms were at last beginning to open, I was today back in Kyoto for three quick visits to popular viewing sites around the city.

Despite some slight variation between the sites and early blooming varieties creating some marvelous scenes, overall it still felt quite early in the season, with only around 1-3% of blossoms already open. As a whole, I would expect the peak viewing period to begin at the end of the coming week.

My first visit was to Arashiyama, a popular sightseeing district on the outskirts of the city with many cherry blossom trees dotted along its streets and riverbanks. Although I was able to spot a few open flowers here and there, these still accounted for just 1% or less of the total picture, with around six more days to wait until ideal viewing conditions.

Over in Tenryuji, an important temple known for its beautiful landscape garden and located just a short walk from the river, the condition of the more common Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms was very similar. The several clusters of earlier blooming trees however were already looking very full and attractive, creating quite a different impression.

Leaving Arashiyama behind, my next stop was at Daigoji, a large temple complex covering an entire mountainside in the southeast of the city. Here, the real stars of the show are the many early blooming weeping cherry blossom trees, already at stunning full bloom which looks likely to continue until next weekend.

While weeping blossom trees dominate in several of the temple's walled gardens, its broad avenues are lined with the more common Somei Yoshino variety. Just slightly ahead of the ones I saw at Arashiyama, I expect these to reach full bloom around the next weekend, extending the period of peak enjoyment well into the following week.

Visitors to the temple arriving from nearby Daigo Station on the Tozai Subway Line can benefit from a temporary shuttle bus with regular departures, costing 210 yen for the approximately 5 minute one-way journey.

My final visit of the day was at Maruyama Park, one of Kyoto's best loved cherry blossom viewing sites located by Yasaka Shrine on the city's east side. While the central cluster of large weeping cherry blossom trees was already quite at full bloom and attracting a steady crowd, the majority of trees spread throughout the park were still at an early stage with about 3% of blossoms open. Here again I would expect the best experience to come towards the end of the coming week.