Matsumoto: Petals Starting To Fall

A day on from my trip to Takato Castle, I rounded off my time in Nagano Prefecture today with a visit to Matsumoto - a gateway city to the Northern Japan Alps, best known as the home of one of the country's most beautiful original castles. Here and in the city overall, the cherry blossoms were already approaching the end of their best viewing period, however heavy rain predicted for tomorrow will probably finish this altogether.

For visitors still hoping to get a glimpse of sakura over the weekend, the blossoms at my second spot today - Koboyama Park - may just be young and fresh enough to survive the downpour and still look attractive.

My first stop in the city was at Matsumoto Castle, one of the few to survive the post-feudal era with an intact main tower, creating a striking backdrop for the 300 or so cherry blossom trees spread across its grounds. These were generally still nice despite showing signs of starting to thin out, with some of the most attractive lining the moat outside of the paid area.

I also made a visit to Koboyama Park - a dome shaped hill about 15 minutes by bus to the south of the city center, and the site of an ancient kofun tomb. In modern times, the slopes of the hill were almost entirely covered with cherry blossom trees, turning an already attractive view into something spectacular when they are in season.

Here, the blossoms were still looking a touch younger and more vibrant than at the castle, suggesting they still have a decent chance of surviving the rain and into the weekend.