“Wa-a-a…kirei,” which means “how beautiful” in English, are the words you are likely to hear when a Japanese person reacts to seeing 40 to 50 cherry blossoms in full bloom lined up in one place. Next comes a respectful silence for the overwhelming beauty and the emotions that it stirs inside. Finally, there is the pose with a peace sign for the obligatory photo in front of the cherry blossoms. This is Japan after all.
Cherry blossoms in Kansai typically bloom from the end of March to the first week of April. Their buds first appear around the spring equinox and wait patiently on their branches for a couple days of warm sunshine before popping out like popcorn on a stick. When unaffected by rain or strong gusts of wind, they will remain on the trees for three to five days before scattering in the wind like falling snowflakes.
Every April starts a new business and academic year in Japan, and in Kansai the appearance of cherry blossoms often coincides with company and school entrance ceremonies. Similarly, many young couples choose this time of year to get married. In this way, cherry blossoms mark the passage of time and inspire a feeling of hope in those starting a new path in their lives.
Hanami Parties for Viewing Cherry Blossoms
Hanami is a Japanese word for the traditional custom of Japanese people sitting underneath a cherry blossom tree, eating a packed lunch, drinking beer and sake, and even singing karaoke. In a typical year, mothers with their small children, families, close friends, and colleagues find a place to spread out their blue plastic tarps to enjoy seeing the cherry blossoms together.
While it sounds like jolly good fun, the ground can be quite damp and cold, the wind chilly, and the thought of drinking cold beer slightly less appealing, especially during night-viewing. Nevertheless, these hanami parties renew relationships, build camaraderie, and strengthen social bonds while giving people an opportunity to engage in shared humanity.
This is why the voluntary (and not so voluntary) restraints placed on the movements of people in Japan these past two years for COVID-19 have been so stressful on the Japanese people. Fortunately, the recent semi-state of emergency was lifted on March 21, 2022, enabling people to take a step forward toward normalcy.
Visiting Some Famous Places in Kyoto
As with its temples and shrines, Kyoto has hundreds of places that are famous for cherry blossoms, and even taking five days to tour the city would not be enough time to see them all. For a day trip, limiting your destinations to East Kyoto can help maximize your time for viewing cherry blossoms since the distances between the famous gardens inside temples and shrines are smaller.
Unfortunately, a significant number of temples and shrines are either undergoing major renovations or preparing for renovations since tourism for these past two years has been exclusively domestic and restricted by state of emergency proclamations. Visitors in 2023 can expect those renovations to be completed.
Maruyama Park
One of the most famous places in Kansai for cherry trees is Maruyama Park. Here you can see around 680 cherry blossom trees, including its famous 80-year old weeping cherry blossom tree. The park is adjacent to Yasaka Shrine.
Philosopher’s Walk
With around 500 cherry blossom trees lining the path, Philosopher’s Walk is a popular destination for taking photographs of cherry blossoms. The most beautiful spots are around Ginkaku Temple from where you can stroll down the path to Nanzen Temple.
Kodaiji Temple
Another venerable tree in Kansai is the weeping cherry blossom tree in Kodai Temple. The temple was constructed by “Nene” in memory of her late husband Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a feudal lord who was one of the three unifiers of Japan.
Higashiyama District
near Shijo Street
northern Kyoto
Siege at the Gates of Osaka Castle
Being closed to picnickers and alcohol meant that the appeal of going inside the Osaka Castle garden to see the cherry blossoms was significantly diminished. Undeterred, throngs of Osakans stretched out their blue plastic sheets under the cherry trees bordering the moat to lay a daylong siege outside the castle wall with their lunches, snacks, and beverages of choice.
Some even mocked those behind the castle walls by throwing discs to each other, engaging in random frolicking, and doing cartwheels on the grass lawn in front of the main gate. The message was clear: “We reclaim our weekend territory.” In normal times, Osaka Castle is a popular place with plenty of space for friends and family to hang out together.
along the moat
Keep Walking at Shukugawa Park
“No alcohol and social gatherings” was the message sent to Nishinomiya residents over the LINE social media app when the cherry blossoms started blooming and people started flocking to see them. While a few people had already enjoyed their hanami parties prior to the edict, the remaining faced strict enforcement of the city ordinance by an elderly man with a yellow vest and an attitude.
While the prohibition of alcohol and social gatherings was disappointing, the park is located in a residential area where large crowds provide little economic benefit while the trash left in their wake creates enormous work for the volunteers, mostly retirees, who tidy up the park.
Another reason for maintaining the strict restrictions is the lingering fear among residents of the recent coronavirus variants. While the number of deaths from COVID-19 in Japan may seem minuscule to people in Europe and the United States, there has been noticeable rise from the omicron variant, and the populations in Nishinomiya and nearby cities are largely comprised of elderly people.
That is not to say that there are not a number of grumpy, authoritative elderly people living in Nishinomiya and Hyogo Prefecture-because there are-but in typical years prior to COVID-19 the spirit of hanami had permitted both alcohol and social gatherings.
Even as the expectations for 2022 seem more hopeful than the previous year, people in Kansai wonder when life will get back to normal. Still the cherry blossoms fills us with hope for the future and a communal spirit that believes that we will overcome all the obstacles before us.
