Himeji and Hikone: Full Bloom

The season continues to progress quickly, with many cities across the country now into their window for best viewing. Reporting from Kanazawa yesterday, Raina found the city in full bloom while I visited three parks in Tokyo, where petals were already beginning to fall. Now back in the Kansai Region, I today had the pleasure of visiting two of the country's surviving castles - Himeji Castle and Hikone Castle - both among the five to be designated as National Treasures.

One of Japan's most spectacular surviving castles, Himeji Castle boasts around a thousand cherry blossom trees spread throughout its extensive grounds, creating a magical viewing experience each year as they come into bloom. My visit today couldn't have been better timed, as the blossoms had just reached full bloom and were still looking very fresh and vibrant.

While you're never too far from a cherry blossom tree within the grounds, there are several places where especially many can be found - I began my visit with a look at the Sannomaru and the Senhimebotanen Garden, both outside the paid area and free to explore. After buying a ticket and making my way inside, I made a stop at the Nishinomaru before heading up to the main tower.

Throughout my visit, the blossoms were consistently beautiful and well filled out, with no noticeable bare patches. While some showers are expected over the next few days, the blossoms should still be young and hardy enough to survive unharmed, with optimal viewing conditions likely to continue until around Sunday.

My second and final stop today was at Hikone Castle, located in Shiga Prefecture close to the shore of Lake Biwa. At just three stories, it is somewhat small but nevertheless a fine example of a hilltop castle, with several hundred cherry blossom trees planted within its grounds. These are known to bloom later than Kyoto, typically with a delay of around a week.

While I noticed that the rows of trees lining the moats at ground level were looking a bit more full and vibrant than those higher up in the open areas surrounding the castle's main tower, overall the area was very much in full bloom with best viewing expected through the weekend.

Illuminations will be held around the castle's inner moat between Genkyuen Garden and the Otebashi Bridge from 18:00 to 21:00 up to April 20.