2011/03/27 - Tokyo Report
byschauwecker

Welcome to the cherry blossom report 2011! The cherry blossoms have started to open on the southern islands ofShikoku andKyushu over the past few days; however, I begin this year's reporting inTokyo, where the blossoms are still officially closed. They areforecast to start opening tomorrow and reach full bloom about one week later.

Ueno Park

I started the day atUeno Park, arguablyTokyo's most famouscherry blossom spot. The cherry trees were still closed with the exception of a few scattered early flowering treevarieties.

The predominantsomei yoshino trees were on the verge of opening up. Among the hundreds of somei yoshino trees in the park, I counted two trees that actually started opening their first blossoms already. The rest should follow in the very near future and probably provide goodhanami conditions by the next weekend.

A few scattered trees of early floweringcherry varieties stood already in bloom. Among them was a pretty weeping cherry tree at the park's south entrance near Keisei Ueno Station.

A few trees of the okanzakura variety provided some colors here and there among the otherwise still barren trees. And next to theBentendo Hall at Shinobazu Pond people were enjoying the deep pink, bell shaped blossoms of some kanhizakura trees, an early flowering tree variety native to Taiwan andOkinawa.

Shinjuku Gyoen

The cherry trees inShinjuku Gyoen were at a similar state as the trees inUeno Park or possibly a couple of days less advanced, as I did not spot a singlesomei yoshino tree with an open blossom yet. Nevertheless, the buds do not look like they need too much more time before opening up.

Apart from the still closed somei yoshino trees there were scattered early flowering trees of different cherry varieties. Best among them was a group of weeping cherry trees around the lower pond, which has already progressed into considerable beauty and attracted lots of park visitors.

Despite the early state of the season,Shinjuku Gyoen attracted a rather large number of visitors this Sunday morning, who enjoyed the good weather for a walk, picnics and photographing.

Koishikawa Korakuen

Koishikawa Korakuen is one ofTokyo's prettiestJapanese gardens, located directly next toTokyo Dome. The garden features several weeping cherry trees, which start blooming a few days earlier than the elsewhere predominantsomei yoshino trees. Indeed, the weeping cherry trees in Koishikawa Korakuen were already around the ten percent mark.

Chidorigafuchi and Yasukuni Shrine

Next I visited the representative cherry tree ofTokyo. Standing on the grounds ofYasukuni Shrine, this single tree is used by the authorities to define the opening of cherry blossoms in Tokyo.

Taking a close look at the tree's branches, I discovered one or two single blossoms that had just opened up. Checking the news, it seems that the two blossoms were not sufficient for the official announcement of the start of the season yet, however, I expect this to happen tomorrow, just as forecast by the Japan Weather Association.

Just a few steps from Yasukuni Shrine is Chidorigafuchi, a popularcherry blossom spot featuring hundreds of cherry trees along the moats of theImperial Palace. Although I could not make out a single open blossom yet, it won't take much longer for the flowering season to start here, too.

Due to theearthquake and resulting power shortages, the nightly illumination scheduled for Chidorigafuchi will be canceled this year. The rental of rowing boats will be possible from April 1.

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