Tokyo: Petals Falling

Four days after Raina still reported full bloom in the capital, I headed to Tokyo to check out the state of the blossoms. As expected I found most of the popular Somei Yoshino trees had lost a lot of their petals in the meantime.

That said, looking at the weather predictions for the rest of the week, I think the trees will still look somewhat attractive for the next few days.

My first (and early) stop was at Ueno Park. The trees were showing clear signs of being past peak: leaves apparent on branches, and petals on the ground. Near Shinobazu Pond, however, some trees still looked quite lovely and served as a nice background to some visitors taking pictures.

I then headed to the Showa Memorial Park. Usually the trees in the park are behind the city center in terms of bloom timing, but today I found them also past peak. If you are looking to catch the blossoms at their best over the next few days, I recommend checking out Shinjuku Gyoen which has many late-blooming varieties of cherry trees. And if you have flexibility for a flowery day trip, consider the Akagi Senbonzakura in Gunma Prefecture, Matsumoto or Takato in Nagano Prefecture, or the Fuji Five Lakes .