The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the official flower of Japan. There are dozens of cherry tree varieties that are found in Japan, including the Yamazakura and Somei Yoshino varieties. Most cherry trees feature blossoms that have five petals. However there area varieties that feature as many as twenty petals.
Cherry blossoms are beautiful, fragrant and delicate. They come in shades of light pink and white. Some less common types of cherry blossoms feature blooms in colors like deep pink or even pale yellow. Still other varieties of cherry blossoms have changing leaves that go from white to pink depending on the bloom cycle.
Blooming time depends on the specific variety of cherry tree as well as the climate. Milder, warmer climates usually lead to earlier blooms, while colder climates see later blooms. Most five petaled varieties of cherry blossom bloom in the springtime. Blossoms with more petals usually take longer to bloom and may not open until summer or early fall.
If you want to see cherry trees in full bloom, you have to act quickly. Blooming season only lasts about two weeks and sometimes even less depending on tree species and weather. There are several fantastic places where you can experience the majesty of cherry blossoms, and they include: Ueno Park, Chidorigafuchi, Sumida Park, Shinjuku Gyoen, and Nagoya Castle, just to name a few.
Japan is home to cherry blossom festivals that celebrate the beauty and wonder of these trees. The earliest festival is the Yaedake Cherry Blossom Festival in Okinawa, however there are many different festivals in various parts of the country.
If you’re going to be in Japan during cherry blossom season, make sure to take a camera along to capture the beauty of these spectacular trees. The blossoms may not last, but your memories certainly can!
Courtesy of JapanDestination
Cherry Blossoms in Japan
Tokyo National Museum
If you’re going to be in Tokyo, then you simply must visit the Tokyo National Museum. During your visit to this amazing facility, you’ll be able to see a wide range of amazing and priceless pieces found nowhere else in the world.
The Honkan Japanese Gallery is one of the most popular exhibits at the museum and takes up two floors and twenty four different rooms. This collection includes a variety of Japanese art, sculpture, lacquerware, ceramics, swords and so much more. On the second floor you’ll find the Highlights of Japanese Art exhibit, a popular attraction. The Toyokan Asian Gallery is another section of the Tokyo National Museum. Two floors and ten rooms house treasures from various Asian countries including Japan, China, Korea, India and Egypt.
At the Heiseikan Japanese archaeology section of the museum, you’ll see priceless antiquities that date as far back as early B.C. and continue in age up to the nineteenth century. Another great attraction is The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures. This collection contains ancient pieces of Buddhist art that were at one time given as a donation to the royal family from the Horyuji Buddhist temple.
Then there are large exhibits that are held as special events various times throughout the year. These events usually happen around five times per year and sometimes cost extra to view. Speaking of cost, it’s quite affordable to gain entrance to the Tokyo National Museum. For adults, the cost is 420 Yen. To the unfamiliar, this might sound like a lot. But for comparison purposes, it equals little over $3.50 US Dollars. University students are offered a discount price of 130 Yen. Prices are a bit more, 600 and 400 Yen respectively, during certain times of the year. There are group discounts given for groups containing 20 or more people.
The Tokyo National Museum is an affordable way to view amazing treasures and antiquities, and should not be missed!
Courtesy of JapanDestination
Kenroku-en Garden
Kenroku-en Garden, located in Kanazawa, is officially one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan and well worth a visit if you’re in the area. Many consider Kenroku-en to be the best of the three official top gardens in Japan.
Founded in the Edo period (1603 – 1868), it’s visited by thousands of visitors throughout the year. It’s a favorite attraction of visitors and tourists alike and many come more than once, because the Kenroku-en garden reveals a different experience each season.
This isn’t like a typical garden. Kenroku-en is a strolling garden that’s full of gardening techniques that span its history. It’s filled with large ponds, hills, cottages and even tea houses. You’re free to roam around and soak up all of its beauty.
To show you that the Kenroku-en isn’t a small little garden, here’s a layout graphic.
As you can see, it’s spacious and it has many key points to see. Make sure you bring your camera. There are three courses you can take. Typically, you should plan to spend about 90 minutes for a course, but you might find yourself taking longer as the beauty of Kenroku-en awes you.
Kenroku-en Garden Admission.
Adults are 300 ($3) Yen and children 100 ($1) Yen. If you happen to be in a group over 30, make sure to get the group discount of 20%.
You can also partake in some tea at the Shigure-tei tea house. Natural leaf tea is 300 ($3) Yen and green powdered tea is 700 ($7) Yen.
Kenroku-en is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m March through October. In the other months, it’s open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It’s closed December 29 – January 03.
You can hire a guide and that will cost about 1,500 Yen ($15) per 30 minutes.
Courtesy of: JapanDestination
Nagoya
Japan is most famous for their beautiful cherry blossoms and high tech electronics. When you say Japan, people will automatically think of Tokyo or Osaka. There’s another city in the nation that is overlooked, because it’s not as commercialized as the other two mentioned. It contributes a lot to the economic growth of Japan, and that city is called Nagoya.
Nagoya is the 4th largest city in Japan. You can get there faster from Tokyo by taking the shinkansen, also called the “bullet train.” It’s about a 2-hour ride and it’s quicker than flying, because from the airport to the city alone is about 30-minutes by bus. Nagoya is also a major shinkansen stop between Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima.
Because of the severe damaged Nagoya suffered during the WWII, it was rebuilt from the ground up. This is Japan’s exemplary rise to the top. Starting from scratch, it’s become the nation’s industrial powerhouse. All the high tech-manufacturing industries in tool machineries, automobiles, aviation, fine ceramics and others are found in this city. A couple of companies in Nagoya are Toyota and Noritake.
This city is not as popular as other tourists’ destinations like Tokyo and Osaka. They don’t have the attractions that the other cities have to offer. But, they do have the most important Shinto Shrine in the nation, the Atsuta-Jingu.
Some of the attractions to see in Nagoya include: the Atsuta- Jingu, Meieki District
(Nagoya Station), the Nagoya-Jo, Ran no Yakata Orchid Gardens, and the Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
The best time to travel in Nagoya is from April-October, when it’s a bit warmer. It gets chilly there from November to March.
One nice feature for English-speaking tourists is the signs, which are also in English.
So, if you happen to be in Japan, make sure to include Nagoya in your itinerary. This is a beautiful city that has a lot of ancient historic significance.
Courtesy of JapanDestination
Kyoto National Museum
The Kyoto National Museum is located in the breathtaking city of Kyoto, Japan. This museum was first opened in 1897 and houses a large number of early artwork pieces and priceless antiquities. These items come from not only Kyoto but other regions of Asia as well. Everyone visiting Kyoto should visit this museum. It’s certainly affordable — adults can gain entry for only 420 Yen. For students, the price is only 130 Yen. Elementary and middle-school aged children are granted free entry. There are discounts available for large tour groups.
The Collections Hall is the main part of the museum and takes up two floors. On the first floor of the Collections Hall, you’ll find sculpture, ceramics, and archeology. There’s also a high-vision theater and information center as well. On the second floor, you’ll see paintings from China and Japan, Buddhist paintings, ink paintings, hand scrolls, calligraphy, textiles, lacquerware and metal work.
There are various special exhibitions that are featured several times each year. An example of a special exhibition is Kyoto Ware: Ceramic Designs and Techniques, an special event that runs from October to November 2006. Past exhibitions have included illustrated hand scrolls, Buddhist Tendai treasures and the Shohaku Show, to name a few.
The Kyoto National Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. There are, however, extended hours for certain special exhibitions and events. On the second and fourth Saturday of every month, visitors are granted free admission to the museum.
There are special lectures, seminars and courses that are held at the museum and given in Japanese. The museum also features a gift shop and cafe where you can pick up some souvenirs and enjoy treats like tea, coffee and cake. When it comes to culture and fun, the Kyoto National Museum has it!
Courtesy of: JapanDestination
Enjoying Culture in Nagoya
Nagoya is an important industrial and cultural center located in Central Japan. It’s also the 4th largest city in the nation. While not a highly popular tourist destination compared to other cities, there are plenty of sights to see, including historic museums, zoos, shrines, castles and parks, and festival events.
One of the most sacred shrines in Japan is found in Nagoya. The Atsuta Jinja (Jinja means “Shinto shrine”) is one of the most important shrines in Japan. It is surrounded by 1,000-year-old cypress trees and houses the sacred imperial sword, which is one of the three regalia of the imperial family. The other two being the sacred mirror at Ise and the sacred jewels in Tokyo in the Imperial Palace. Over 8 million people visit the site every year.
Another must-see is the Nagoya Castle. This was originally built in the year 152 and it displays Edo period armor and fusama-e (paintings on sliding doors). They have treasured arts that survived the war bombings. On top of the castle are two gold dolphins called kinshachi. It is supposedly a symbol of feudal lord’s authority.
The best time to go to Nagoya Castle is in the spring when 2,000 Cherry Blossom trees are in bloom. They are absolutely beautiful.
Another Nagoya stopover is the Museum Meiji Mura. This 250-acre open-air architectural museum has over sixty buildings from the Meiji period (1868-1912) that was rebuilt and brought here—ten of which were appointed as “Important Cultural Property.”
The Meiji era was an important period for Japanese culture. Japan opened her doors to the outside world. You’ll noticed the used of wooden architecture on the buildings. The Western influence is apparent with the use of bricks, stone, iron, and painted wood.
Earthquake, war, fire and greedy land developers unfortunately destroyed many of the buildings in that era.
Still, there’s much to enjoy and it’ll take about 3 hours to see everything.
Shopping in Nagoya is wonderful. There are plenty of department stores and huge underground shopping malls (Nagoya Station and Sakae) downtown. However, they also have the traditional arcades where you find souvenirs of better quality. A favorite is the Osu Shopping Arcade. The prices are very reasonable.
One of the things that people love about Nagoya is the festival events, such as the “Shichi-go-san” festivals. It literally means seven-five-three. This celebration is held on November 15, for when a girl turns 3 or 7, or when a boy turns 5.
There you have it. I hope that you’ll give Nagoya a visit when you’re traveling in Japan. Just hop on the bullet train and enjoy this beautiful city filled with historic sights to see.
Courtesy of: JapanDestination
