Another cherry blossom season has returned to all parts of Japan. At the moment, in some parts of the country of the Rising Sun, flowers are just budding. However, in some other regions, the cherry blossoms are at their most brilliant, in some places the petals are waiting just to be dropped on the ground or actually "reunited" with the sun. land already. This is the natural process of flowers that no human factor can affect them. And of course, not all of them have the same blooming time or the Japanese call it "Mankai" - the most brilliant period of cherry blossoms because there are so many varieties of cherry blossoms in this country. We can distinguish them based on the number of petals, shape, color as well as the time the flower blooms. If you are a cherry blossom lover but don't know much about the different types of cherry blossoms, this article might be helpful for you.
This article will give an overview of the 10 most popular types of cherry blossoms you can find in Japan during spring.
1) Kawazuzakura
Kawazuzakura is Japan's earliest blooming cherry blossom. You can find a large number of these flowers in a town called Kawazu in Izu Prefecture. This flower usually starts to bloom in early February. At this time, people here also hold a flower viewing festival called "Kawazuzakura Cherry Blossom Festival". The festival usually lasts from early February to early March, attracting millions of visitors every year. The majority of visitors come to Kawazu town to participate in this festival.
Kawazuzakura is a five-petaled cherry that is pink in color and has a slightly larger petal size than other types of cherry blossoms. In the blooming season, flowers are often accompanied by green buds that are budding for a new life. The life cycle of this flower is also relatively longer than all other cherry blossoms you can find in Japan.
2) Someiyoshino (Cherry Yoshino)
There are over 100 varieties of cherry blossoms that can be found in Japan, including those that grow wild. This Yoshino cherry blossom variety is said to be the most popular. This flower is the result of a mixture of Edohigan Zakura and Oshimazakura varieties. Petals are pale pink, although at first glance, you will sometimes mistake them to be white. Each flower when in full bloom will have 5 petals. Most of the Yoshino flowers were planted during the Edo period. The oldest Somei Yoshino cherry blossom tree planted in Hirosaki Park, Aomori Prefecture in 1882 still looks gorgeous and full of life to this day.
This flower usually starts to bloom from the beginning of April, but it is not until the second half of April to become the most brilliant. A special thing is that during the blooming period you will not find any young buds appearing until these petals fall off. If you want to see this sakura in a less crowded spot, head to Hirosaki Park, home to lovely cherry trees with a festival held from late March to early April. If you want to have a Yoshino cherry blossom tree in your yard, don't hesitate to take the seeds here and plant them!
3) Takato Kohigan Cherry Blossom
This type of cherry blossom is only found in the park of Takato Castle, Nagano Prefecture. This is a special type of cherry blossom that blooms in early April. Takao Khigan Sakura has 5 petals with a gentle reddish pink color. And as you can see, also because this is a special type of cherry blossom, you can see very few branches of this tree from a distance.
The park from the castle has more than 1500 cherry blossom trees of the same type. If you don't want to miss a great cherry blossom viewing spot like this, come here in mid-April every year to experience the fun and engaging cherry parties.
4) Shidarezakura
Shidarezakura is my favorite kind of sakura flower. If you also love this flower, head to the samurai district of Kakunodate, where there is a whole line of Shidarezakura trees planted by the roadside. There are many Shidarezakura flowering trees in Tohoku such as the giant Miharu Takizakura, located in Fukushima Prefecture. It is known that this cherry blossom tree has existed for more than 1000 years.
This cherry blossom also becomes more vibrant than ever when in full bloom. One of the main attractions of this flower is the long, drooping branches that seem to touch the shoulders of guests who enjoy flowers when they stand under this cherry tree. There are two types of long branched cherry blossoms, one with only 5 petals while the other has a much larger number of petals called Yaeshidarezakura. This multi-petal flower usually blooms in early April and has a relatively long life cycle. If you want to see these two special cherry blossoms, you can come visit and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the Kakunodate cherry blossom festival.
5) Yamazakura
Yamazakura is a type of mountain cherry blossom, classified as one of the wildest cherry species in Japan. If you have the opportunity to visit Yoshinoyama during spring, you will surely be amazed by the beauty that Yamazakura brings to this place. Yoshinoyama is a mountain in Nara. Known for the mountain slopes filled with cherry blossoms every early April every year. This is one of the most beautiful cherry blossom viewing spots in Japan because of the wild nature of the mountains and the space it offers.
Compared to Yoshino sakura, Yamazakura's petals are slightly smaller in size, although the number of petals is about the same. The flowers are light pink in color and you can also see several dark red fallen leaves dotted at the same time as the Yamazakura petals are in full bloom.
6) Ichiyo
Ichiyo is a popular cherry blossom that usually blooms in mid-April, especially in the Kanto region. This is a late blooming cherry blossom with more than 5 petals. Usually, there are about 20-30 petals with lovely pink color accompanied by green shoots. This flower becomes truly magnificent and impressive in its prime. You can see this flower at many parks and gardens across Japan.
7) Edohigan Zakura
Looks like a sakura yoshino, doesn't it? As mentioned above, this is one of the two types of flowers used to breed and produce yoshino flowers. This is a popular type of cherry blossom and is found mainly in the Kanto region and can be difficult to find in Okinawa or Hokkaido Japan. The giant Edohigan sakura tree located in Usuzumi Park, Gifu Prefecture, was planted by Emperor Keitai in the 6th century. Up to now, this flower tree is about 1500 years old and 16 meters tall. This is one of the oldest cherry trees in Japan.
Edohigan has smaller petals than Yoshino which usually bloom in late March, but this time can vary slightly depending on weather conditions.
8) Kanhizakura
Kanhizakura has a special charm in it. This type of cherry blossom is popular in Okinawa and Taiwan. In southern Japan, the blooming period runs from mid-January to February, while in Honshu, the flower usually blooms in early March.
The shape of the flower is like a small bell. Interesting, is not it? Unlike ordinary sakura, this flower has a deep pink color, similar to apricot color and has 5 petals. To see this type of flower, you can go to Yaedak Mountain in Okinawa where thousands of Kanhizakura flowers are in full bloom in early February every year.
9) Kanzan
This is a flower of the yaezakura line - a multi-petaled sakura flower. The flowering period of this flower is usually at the end of April. There are about 30-50 dark pink petals on a background of brown leaves. Usually, young leaves will begin to appear before the flowers fade.
10) Kikuzakura
Dubbed the hundred-petaled sakura, this is a popular late-blooming sakura species in Japan. For this type of sakura, flowers and leaves often appear at the same time. The leaves of Kikuzakura are larger than all other cherry blossoms mentioned above. In Tokyo, you can see this flower in Japanese parks and gardens. This flower usually blooms from late April to early May.
There are many other varieties of cherry blossoms throughout Japan. Not only spring, even late autumn and early winter, you can also see cherry blossoms (Jugatsuzakura) in Japan.
Hope this article helps you to understand more about cherry blossom - a symbol of the country of the Rising Sun.
