Cherry Blossom Report: Osaka
by Sean, staff writer of japan-guide.com
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2013/04/02 - Cherry Blossom Report: Osaka
News agencies reported that the peak for this cherry blossom season had arrived in Osaka just slightly before this past weekend. Following my visit six days ago, I returned to the city again to check out its cherry trees. It was another cloudy and slightly drizzling day, but I witnessed some nice views of the blossoms at Kema Sakuranomiya Park, Osaka Caste and Expo 70 Commemorative Park.
Kema Sakuranomiya Park
April 2, 2013 - full bloom
Kema Sakuranomiya Park is a riverside park with nearly 5000 cherry trees lining the eastern bank of Okawa River. Today the trees were at full bloom, providing impressive views of cherry blossoms at their best stretching for kilometers by the riverside promenade.
With that many cherry trees, it didn't come as a surprise that many blossoms were at different stages of their flowering cycle: some still looked relatively robust and fresh, while others looked a little jaded and had already shedded some petals. I think in general the cherry trees here will remain at full bloom for another couple of days, before their cherry blossoms start to lose petals in numbers.
For those who arrive in Osaka just after the main cherry blossom season, consider visiting the Osaka Mint Bureau, located on the western bank of Okawa River across Sakuramiya Bridge from Kema Sakuranomiya Park. The mint has a garden with a large assortment of late blooming varieties of cherry trees. It can be quite an eye opener looking at the different types of cherry blossoms that it has to offer. The mint's garden will be specially opened to the general public from April 16 to 22 this year.
Osaka Castle
April 2, 2013 - full bloom
When I visited last week, the cherry blossoms at Osaka Castle were at a noticeably more advanced stage than those at Kema Sakuranomiya Park. Accordingly, while they were still at their best today, many blossoms were starting to turn dark pink at their centers: a sign that the petals will start to fall before long. Nonetheless, I caught some great views today, including that of the colourful peach tree grove outside the castle's northern moat which was also in bloom.
Visitors to the castle in two or three days should find increasing occurrences of hanafubuki (blizzard of falling petals). There is a festival going on at the castle's Nishinomaru Park from April 4 to 10 (9:00 to 20:00, 350 yen). At the festival there will be live music performances in the evenings, as well as "Sakura Fantasia Laser Shows" on April 6 and 7 (18:25, 18:55, 19:25).
Expo 70 Commemorative Park
April 2, 2013 - full bloom
Gleeful children running around playgrounds; rows of cherry trees lined up neatly along wide avenues; large lawns for families and couples to have their picnics; the smell of burning charcoal; festival stalls bringing out the celebratory spirit; nice music playing through the park speakers: these are the endearing qualities of the Expo 70 Commemorative Park that make it one of my favourite three cherry blossom spots.
Today the smell of rain added a tinge of romance to the air. The cherry blossoms were pretty and healthy. The light breeze made branches sway gently, but barely any of the petals were willing to fall yet. The lights were placed on the ground faced up, ready to receive the baton from the sun goddess.
This year's cherry blossom festival at the park will take place until April 14. During the festival, the park will operate daily until 21:00, having illuminations in the evenings.
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