{"id":2762,"date":"2020-03-24T00:12:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T15:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/?p=2762"},"modified":"2020-03-24T00:12:56","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T15:12:56","slug":"cherry-blossom-viewing-best-spots-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/local-area-guides\/cherry-blossom-viewing-best-spots-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Cherry Blossom Viewing, What are the Best Spots in Japan?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Spring the famed trees in Japan begin\nto blossom. They are a beautiful sight to see and bring thousands of tourists\nto the island nation. The trees are all over Japan, but there are some places\nthat offer a more spectacular view than others. Finding these places can be a\nlittle troublesome but can be worth the extra effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What\u2019s\nso Important About Sakura?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First you may wonder what is so\nspecial about these flowers, other than looking so beautiful for a short period\nof time. The flower is steeped in Japanese tradition and has ties to Buddhism.\nThe flower represents life by showing how it begins as buds moving to beautiful\nflowers and withering away as it passes for the new leaves to emerge. It is\nused in many foods and drinks during this time as well. During this time there\nare other plume blossom that bloom and look like cherry blossoms as well. They\nare also beautiful so view and can be seen near other sakura trees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The act of flower viewing is called\n\u201chanami\u201d in Japanese. It is where you and your friends and family enjoy\nwatching sakura trees and have a picnic. The common foods are sakura dango and\nsake. You can eat anything you want as there are no strict rules on food for\nthe viewing party. It is a common tradition that almost everyone in Japan will\ndo during the blooming season. It is used as a great way for companies to\ndevelop teamwork by having company viewing parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shinjuku Gyoen – Tokyo<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This particular park has a unique\nfeature in that it has sakura trees that bloom early and bloom late. This\nallows more people to be able to enjoy the beautiful spectacle of the cherry\nblossoms. There are over one thousand sakura trees in the park, and it offers a\nlarge viewing area to enjoy your hanami. When you are finished viewing the\nsakura you can enjoy the entertaining sights of Shinjuku as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mihara Takizakura – Fukushima<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With most of the viewing areas\nboasting hundreds or thousands of trees, this particular park has only one.\nThis tree is said to be one of the greatest trees in all of Japan. It is a\nweeping cherry tree, or waterfall cherry tree, that is claimed to be over one\nthousand years old. It is located near Miharu Town and is one of the most\nviewed spots for the blossom season. Though many may still remember the\nFukushima accident, it is not an area affected by it and is safe for viewing\nand sightseeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Peace Memorial Park – Hiroshima<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Peace Memorial park is not only a\nfantastic place to see Japanese history and learn of the past conflicts, it is\nalso a wonderful cherry blossom tree viewing spot. The large park has the\nMotoyasu River running through it\u2019s center, and the banks of it are lined with\nsakura trees. You can spend the day learning about the past events, and at\nnight enjoy the illuminated tress in the park. You hire a tour guide to take\nyou to all the sites and show you the trees during prime viewing time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Philosophers\u2019s Path – Kyoto<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The philosopher\u2019s Path is a stone path\nthat runs through Kyoto\u2019s Higayashi district. It is two kilometers long and\nbegins at Ginkakuji and ends at Nanzenji. It is a famous area in Kyoto that\ndraws many tourists, and it has tour groups that can show you the best sights\nand explain its history. If you wait until April the path will be lined with\ncherry trees from beginning to end. It is truly on of the premiere spots to\nview in Japan. Some of Japan\u2019s most famous philosophers would walk this path\nduring their meditation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Takato Castle Park – Nagano<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Located in Ina City in Nagano\nprefecture, this particular site is lauded as one of the top three viewing\nspots in Japan. There are around 1500 cherry trees that cover the castle\ngrounds and offers a site like no other in Japan. Some of the trees were\nplanted in 1875 when the park was first opened to the public and they are still\nblooming in shades of pink and white. A cherry blossom festival that is held\nthere and it lasts for the entire month of April. Festival stalls are set up on\nthe castle grounds and there is even illumination once the sun sets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chureito Pagoda – Fuji Five Lakes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This five-story pagoda is set\noverlooking Fujiyoshida City. It is part of the Arakura Sengen Shrine and was\nbuilt in 1963 as a peace memorial. It boasts a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji along\nwith hundreds of cherry trees blossoming in mid-April. For this reason alone,\nit is seen as a sought-after spot for photographers in Japan. Admission is free\nfor everyone and it is a short twenty-minute walk from Shimo Yoshida station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These are only a few places in Japan\nto see the wonderful tress in all of their beauty. Every town has their own\nplaces to view and enjoy hanami. There are some that have more than others but\nremember that every famous spot will be crowded with other viewers trying to\nget the best spots for viewing. Plan out your trip accordingly and try to get\nto the viewing areas early to get the spots possible. Then relax and enjoy the\nnatural beauty of Japan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Spring the famed trees in Japan begin to blossom. They are a beautiful sight to see and bring thousands of tourists to the island nation. The trees are all over Japan, but there are some places that offer a more spectacular view than others. Finding these places can be a little troublesome but can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-area-guides"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}