Yoshino

Mount Yoshino (吉野山, Yoshinoyama) in Yoshino Town, Nara Prefecture, is Japan's most famous cherry blossom spot. It features over 30,000 cherry trees planted around the slopes which visitors can admire as they walk along the roads that lead up the mountain.

Yoshino also offers a rich history, which makes it an interesting destination at any time of the year. As the base of the pilgrimage trail to sacred Mount Omine, Yoshinoyama has been a center of Shugendo mountain worship for many centuries. The remote town also served various historical personalities as a refuge, including Emperor Go-Daigo who established a competing second imperial court there in the 14th century.

In 2004, Yoshino, together with Mount Koya and Kumano, was designated a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site named the "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range".