Kyoto: Blossoms Opening

Just a day after my report from Osaka where the cherry blossoms were noticeably beginning to fill out, I today returned to Kyoto to check in once again on how things were progressing at four of the city's viewing spots.

By now, cherry blossoms at each of the sites I visited were continuing to develop apace, already creating some very attractive scenes and drawing ever larger numbers of visitors. Factoring in some cooler temperatures over the next few days, I would expect the overall window for peak viewing to begin from this weekend.

My day began in the eastern part of the city along the Philosopher's Path. Setting the pattern for the day, here around 20% of flowers were already in bloom, giving a pleasant overall impression especially when combined with the handful of earlier blooming trees dotted here and there along the route, although overall the area still feels early in the season.

Next on my list was the Keage Incline, another popular spot set along a preserved section of old railtrack about 20 minutes from the southern end of the Philosopher's Path.

While some of the trees clustered around the lower part of the slope were already beginning to fill out quite nicely, the overall sense was still held back somewhat by a few trees that had only just begun to bloom, particularly toward the upper part.

My third visit was to Maruyama Park, which had livened up quite a bit since my previous visit. As the city's most popular spot for cherry blossom viewing parties, the park was already filling up with visitors while a variety of stalls offering snacks, drinks and fairground-style entertainments were doing a brisk trade.

The cluster of early blooming trees that are the park's centerpiece were already at their peak, while elsewhere the Somei Yoshino variety that makes up most of its cherry blossom trees were still at the opening stage.

My final stop and by far the most crowded of the day was at Kiyomizudera Temple. Here, the best cherry blossom viewing is to be found at the base of the main building's iconic wooden stage and clustered around a pond towards the exit from the grounds.

In both spots, the trees were developing in line with the city overall, with a few days to wait until the best viewing experience.

The temple will hold a special night viewing of the blossoms until 21:30 (entry until 21:00) up until April 3.