Kitakami: Full Bloom

It has been a month since we began our cherry blossom reporting, and the season is making its way to Hokkaido with Matsumae announcing the opening of their first blossoms yesterday. This week, I am in the Tohoku Region, where cities like Sendai and Fukushima in the south reported full bloom on April 10 and 8 respectively. The cherry blossom season is now at its best viewing in the northern half of the Tohoku Region.

Today, I visited Kitakami, a popular cherry blossom spot just 20 minutes south of Morioka by the Tohoku Shinkansen. The main cherry blossom site is Tenshochi Park along the Kitakami River about a 10-15 minute walk from Kitakami Station. Approximately 500 cherry trees line the two kilometer path along the river, and today, I observed that the blossoms were at full bloom. Rain is forecast on Wednesday, which may take some petals down prematurely. However, I expect the best viewing to continue for the next couple of days or so, and predict that the petals will start falling easily from the middle of this week.

Until April 29, there is a cherry blossom festival at Tenshochi Park. During the festival, the cherry blossoms are illuminated in the evening from 18:00 till 20:00, and there are many food stalls around the Tenshochi rest house. A horse-drawn carriage ride along the cherry tree lined path is available during the festival from 10:00 till 17:00.