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Cherry Blossom Report 2014
Official cherry blossom reports by japan-guide.com

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2014/04/04 - Kamakura Report
by scott

Wet blossoms around Kamakura's Great Buddha

As the cherry blossoms continue to peak around Kyoto, the sakura season in Tokyo is starting to wind down. Over in Kamakura however, the cherries tend to bloom a few days later than nearby Tokyo and were just reaching full bloom today.

Great Buddha
April 4, 2014 - full bloom

My first stop this morning was to the Great Buddha, a large bronze Buddha statue that is one of Japan's most popular tourist spots. There are about a dozen cherry trees planted around the grounds including one large, well placed tree in front of the statue, in addition to a small grove of cherry trees around the entrance.

Most of the trees around the Great Buddha were at the peak of full bloom this morning and, while wet, didn't appear to have been damaged by the recent rains. The main tree near the statue was a little bit behind the others, but looked like it would reach full bloom maybe later on today.

Kamakura's Great Buddha

The blossoms of the big tree near the statue are just reaching full bloom

This guy was biting off the flowers of the main tree!

The cherry trees near the entrance were at their peak

Dankazura (Tsurugaoka Hachimangu)
April 4, 2014 - full bloom

Next I headed over to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu to check out the Dankazura, the 500 meter long, tree lined approach that leads from the station to the shrine. One of Kamakura's most popular cherry blossom spots, the Dankazura has around 300 cherry trees planted along it. They form a cherry blossom tunnel that can be enjoyed as you walk toward the shrine.

Unfortunately, something felt off about the cherry trees along the Dankazura this morning, and I have to admit that I found it very hard to pin down the state of the blossoms. For the most part they appeared to be at full bloom, but the blossoms looked very sparse and on closer inspection it seemed that the trees simply didn't have as many flowers as in the past. The blossoms that were there looked good though, so hopefully this is just an irregular year.

The approach to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine

Full bloom along the Dankazura

Lanterns line the Dankazura

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List of Posts:
2014/05/09 - Hakodate Report
2014/05/08 - Matsumae Report
2014/05/01 - Hirosaki Report
2014/04/30 - Kakunodate Report
2014/04/24 - Kitakami Report
2014/04/23 - Mt. Fuji Report
2014/04/23 - Morioka Report
2014/04/22 - Aizu Report
2014/04/19 - Matsushima Report
2014/04/17 - Takato Report
2014/04/16 - Sendai Report
2014/04/16 - Matsumoto Report
2014/04/15 - Fukushima Report
2014/04/15 - Mount Fuji Report
2014/04/15 - Kyoto Report
2014/04/14 - Yoshino Report
2014/04/13 - Osaka Report
2014/04/12 - Kanazawa Report
2014/04/11 - Kyoto Report
2014/04/10 - Yoshino Report
2014/04/10 - Tokyo Report
2014/04/09 - Gunma Report
2014/04/09 - Hikone Report
2014/04/08 - Kyoto Report
2014/04/07 - Tokyo Report
2014/04/06 - Kyoto Report
2014/04/05 - Hiroshima Report
2014/04/05 - Matsuyama Report
2014/04/04 - Tokyo Report
2014/04/04 - Kamakura Report
2014/04/04 - Osaka Report
2014/04/03 - Kyoto Report
2014/04/03 - Fukuoka Report
2014/04/03 - Uji Report
2014/04/02 - Tokyo Report
2014/04/02 - Nagoya Report
2014/04/02 - Kumamoto Report
2014/04/01 - Kyoto Report
2014/03/31 - Tokyo Report
2014/03/29 - Kyoto Report
2014/03/28 - Kumamoto Report
2014/03/27 - Fukuoka Report
2014/03/26 - Tokyo Report
2014/03/25 - Kyoto Report