Rediscovering Japan
Rediscovering Japan
Seasonal Events (April)
by tomizuta
Cherry Blossoms
The Japanese feel the arrival of spring through cherry blossoms. Because
of the global warming the timing of the start of cherry blossoms has become
earlier and could start to bloom from the end of March and continue into
April. In the very north or the mountains, you can enjoy Hanami (cherry
blossom viewing) in early May. Still, if I am asked what comes to my mind
as an April event, I would instantly respond “cherry blossoms”. You can
learn about Hanami in general in the article “Rikugien/Ebigawa” under Travel.
But this year I thought I should try a new place.
(Left: The cherry blossoms had just started to bloom in early April 2017.)
On April 2nd of 2017, we paid a visit to Sakura Castle Park in Sakura City,
Chiba Prefecture. Sakura Castle was the castle of the Sakura fiefdom. The
feudal lord of Sakura changed more than ten times until the Hotta family
came to rule in 1762. Sakura Castle was dismantled in 1873 and the moats
and mounds are the only ruins that remain. The park also houses the National
Museum of Japanese History. This is a very comprehensive museum where you
can learn the history of Japan from the Stone Age to Modern. Audio guides
are available in English, Chinese and Korean. Although you could spend
days going through all the displays, perhaps better if you just brisked
through the exhibition halls in say two hours to get a feel of the history.
The admission fee is a modest 420 yen.
( Left: A tea ceremony being held in front of the museum.)
The area that the castle and main buildings stood is now an open space
with many cherry blossom trees. In the March article Hinamatsuri, I explained
how the local municipalities are endeavoring to stimulate the local economy
through community events. I have visited Sakura many times but never to
view cherry blossoms. The reason that I chose to visit Sakura this year
was because Sakura Castle Park came up frequently when I searched for places
in Chiba Prefecture to enjoy this year’s cherry blossoms. There were many
attractions for visitors, such as tea serving and classic drum beating
that accompanies festivals and theater performance.
(Left: People picknicking under the cherry blossoms in Sakura Castle Park.)
The weather forecast for the day had not been promising, and visitors to
the park were sparse in the morning. However as the day went by without
turning worse and in fact becoming warmer and the sun coming out, by early
afternoon there was a long queue of cars waiting to enter the car parks.
Although in the morning the bloom rate was only 10 to 20%, we noticed that
it had definitely increased in the last couple of hours. As it happened,
we heard on TV the following morning that the cherry blossoms had reached
100% bloom in Tokyo on the previous day and for other areas that full bloom
would come very quickly this year. We were very lucky to have visited the
park at the right point in time!
(Left: Drum beating in the castle grounds)
I introduced Ebigawa in Rikugien/Ebigawa. A week late we visited Ebigawa.
The cherry blossoms were in full bloom but unfortunately it was cold and
raining. But I noticed that cherry blossoms under the rain was perhaps
even more beautiful than under the sun.
Japan stretches over 3,000 kilometers from the sub-arctic Northern Hokkaido
to sub-tropical Okinawa in the south, so there are large differences in
climate from region to region. Many visitors ask when the best time is
to view cherry blossoms. The answer is that in the low areas south of Kantou
area including Tokyo it would be any time depending on that year’s weather,
from late March to early April. However it would be much later in the north
or in the mountain areas. This year (2017) the first bloom in Tokyo was
observed on March 21st and full bloom on April 2nd. We visited Tateshina
in Nagano Prefecture this year on April 29th. At a place 950 meters above
sea level, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.
But at Shoukouji Buddhist temple at 1,250 meters above sea level just a
10 minutes’ drive up, the first bloom had not been witnessed yet. Looking
at the buds, I thought it forthcoming in the following one or two days.
This is even later than Sapporo in Hokkaidou Prefecture where the first
bloom was seen on April 28th.
(Left: The grounds were ready for people to picnic but the cherry blossoms
were not at Shoukouji Temple)
In Tokyo it took twelve days from first to full bloom. We were very lucky
as the temperature dropped after first bloom and there was little rain
or gusts. In contrast, it took only three days from first to full bloom
in Takatou Castle Park in Nagano Prefecture, which is not that far away
from Tateshina. How long the cherry blossoms will last varies very much
depends on the weather after first bloom.
(Left: First bloom could be observed in a day or so at Shoukouji)
And of course the Wagashi (Japanese sweets) for April is SAKURA-MOCHI.
Kantou style Choumeiji (left) and Kansai style Doumyouji (right). Note the cherry leaves).