My World Trip... Japan

2025 was the 10th year I was in Japan for cherry blossoms. This time, I did a road trip around the Greater Tokyo area. Although I had visited several spots in Tokyo for cherry blossom viewing (hanami) previously, I have yet to check out most of the places in the prefectures surrounding Tokyo. 2025 appeared to be a challenging year for hanami at first, as the earlier blooming Kawazu-zakura（河津桜）variety was two weeks late, and it was snowing in most parts of Japan on 19 March. Fortunately, the temperature shot up to 20+ degrees Celsius on 22 March, hence the bloom timing ended up generally in line with usual years.  Below are the places in the Kanto region I visited this trip, in no particular order. My favorites would be 7 & 10. (Places around Mount Fuji will be covered in another post.) 1. Shimizu Park（清水公園）in Chiba prefecture（千葉県） One of the three "Japan's top 100 cherry blossom spots" in Chiba prefecture, Shimizu Park has around 2000 Sakura trees. This place is huge,...

In Spring 2025, I did a road trip for cherry blossom viewing (hanami) in the Greater Tokyo area.  Below are the places I visited in the Mount Fuji area. (For places in the Kanto region, refer to the previous post link ) The views here are more impressive, thanks to Mount Fuji and the good weather! 1. Yamataka Jindai Sakura（山高神代桜）in Yamanashi prefecture（山梨県） One of the "Three Great Sakura Trees of Japan", the Yamataka Jindai Sakura (Edohigan variety) is said to be 2000 years old. It is in the grounds of Jissoji temple（実相寺）, which requires a small entrance fee, but the view of the tree from outside the temple is nicer. 2. Oboshi Park（大法師公園）in Yamanashi prefecture（山梨県） The only place in Yamanashi prefecture chosen as "Japan's Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spots", Oboshi Park on a hill top has 2000 Sakura trees, mostly Somei Yoshino variety（染井吉野）, and it is possible to see Mount Fuji from here if the weather is good. Many locals enjoy hanami/picnic here. The festive mood i...