Cherry Blossom Report: Kyoto
by Scott, staff writer of japan-guide.com
This journal is a log of my travels within Japan. Here you'll find my personal opinions on the places I've been and the things I've seen. Also expect to see the occasional review and editorial. Thanks for reading.
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2015/04/06 - Cherry Blossom Report: Kyoto
The cherry blossom season continues on with petals falling left and right around the majority of Japan. Today I spent another wet day out west, this time in the Kansai Region checking out the progress around Kyoto and revisiting many of the spots that Raina stopped by during her earlier report on March 31, 2015. Since then the blossoms have passed through full bloom and are falling in droves around the city.
Arashiyama
April 6, 2015 - petals starting to fall
My first stop this morning was the riverbank area around Togetsukyo Bridge in Arashiyama. The trees that line the riverbank were still in bloom, but were quickly approaching the end of the season. The cherry blossoms were freely losing their petals with petal storms (hanafubuki) kicking up at every gust of wind. It was raining lightly when I was there, but it looks like the rains have passed and hopefully it may dry up over the next few days so that people can enjoy the blossoms while they are still there.
Daikakuji
April 6, 2015 - petals starting to fall
Daikakuji Temple is another good cherry blossom spot in Arashiyama, although it is relatively far away from the central town area at just a little over 2 km north of the bridge. Lots of cherry trees line the temple's large pond garden providing a cherry blossom tunnel and lots of space for cherry blossom parties (hanami). Normally there would be people picnicking under the trees but it was too wet for that today.
Daikakuji's cherry trees were some of the best I saw today. Most of the trees around the garden had plenty of blossoms clinging to their branches, but were dropping their petals freely to mini cherry blossom storms. The cherry blossom tunnel still had flowers, but the fresh leaves of the maples along the path were starting to crowd them out. Daikakuji should still be worth a trip over the next few days, but I'd recommend renting a bicycle or taking a taxi to get there.
Maruyama Koen
April 6, 2015 - petals starting to fall
It was still drizzling a bit when I arrived at Maruyama Koen a little after lunch, but that didn't stop people from enjoying themselves under the blossoms that were left around the park. The atmosphere was still nice, but by now a good percentage of the blossoms have fallen and the season may not last much more than a couple of more days.
Kiyomizudera
April 6, 2015 - petals starting to fall
My final stop today was to Kiyomizudera at the southern end of the Higashiyama District. When Raina visited last week the blossoms were still approaching full bloom. Today however, a lot of the more advanced trees from last week have already gone beyond the peak with mostly green leaves replacing the cherry blossoms on their branches. Luckily there are still quite a few Somei Yoshino trees around in bloom to provide some color around the temple grounds, but it is starting to look very yellowish green under the stage as the new maple leaves are coming in. On a side note, the temple will continue to be lit up in the evenings from 18:00 to 21:00 until April 12.
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