A day on from myvisit toMatsushima in the northern part of Japan's pacific coast, today's reporting found me about 140 kilometers to the southwest inAizu-Wakamatsu,Fukushima Prefecture. Sitting at a higher elevation than much of the rest of the prefecture and surrounded by mountain ranges, the area tends to reach full bloom at least a few days later than Fukushima as a whole, and indeed the two spots I visited today were at quite different stages to each other as well.

My first stop today was atTsuruga Castle, a concrete reconstruction in extensive grounds with open grassy spaces andcherry blossom groves set amongst still impressive stone ramparts. Making my way around, I noticed quite a bit of variation in the blossoms, with the grove at the foot of the castle's main tower already looking quite full while the area east of the defensive moat was still only just getting started.

With the beginning of the season officially declared four days ago on the 13th and warm weather today and tomorrow, overall the blossoms here should reach full bloom by tomorrow at the latest and, barring any extreme weather, stay at their best for around a week with the later developing patches extending theseason a few days further.

Colorful illuminations will be held in the castle grounds to coincide with the blossoms at their peak, from sunset to 21:30. Once the blossoms are deemed to be past their best, the lights will stay on only until 21:00 until May 6.

Things were quite different at my next stop along theKannonji River, where twin rows of cherry blossom trees extend along the riverbank close to Kawageta Station. Here, the branches were entirely bare without a flower in sight. Judging from the look of the branches and the hot weather forecast over the next few days, I would expect full bloom to arrive from early next week.

Accompanying the arrival of the blossoms each year is theKannonji River Sakura Festival, in which stalls offer food and drinks while the trees are illuminated with multicolored lights. The illumination will be from 18:30 until 21:00 and coincide with best viewing, but exact dates have yet to be announced.

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