2009/04/02 - Kobe Report

byfrancois

Sumaura Park

Sumaura Park is located west of downtownKobe. It consists of two areas; an upper park, and a lower park. The upper park is along a mountainside, which can be scaled either by foot or by cable car. The lower park is much smaller and is mostly level at the mountain's base. There are about 3600 cherry trees in the two areas combined.

The cherry blossoms at Sumaura Park are not yet very developed. They have only just opened, and about 10% are in bloom. The trees in the lower park are of course much more developed, and today a few groups could be seen enjoying cherry blossom viewing parties (hanami).

Oji Zoo

The Kobe City Oji Zoo is a medium sized zoo with a wide variety of wildlife in the park. There are a few areas with clusters of cherry trees, but the vast majority of the zoo's approximately 480 trees line the walking paths between the different animal areas.

The cherry blossoms at the zoo are between 30% and 40% open. There were medium crowds, but most people seemed more interested in the pandas or gorillas than the flowers. Many people were taking the opportunity to eat under the trees.

Arima Onsen

Arima Onsen is a pleasanthot spring town north of centralKobe. There are about 500 cherry trees located around the town.

The cherry blossoms in Arima are not very developed, and have only opened about 10%. A cherry blossoms festival will take place from the 11th to the 14th. There are cherry trees illuminations in the evening from the 1st to the 15th. Some of these events occur at Senpukuji Temple, which is famous for its weeping cherry tree (shidare).

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