Ron, I'm confused - the first two pictures are the ones Mariko called Kawazu-zakura, and she knows they're cherries and posted them earlier.
Ron, I haven't posted any pictures of plums yet in this thread. Because plums are very rare in Japan. But I have found them recently. But they are not blooming properly. So wait a little.
I was talking about this caption: Mumes at th park and Higo-Hosokawa Garden were after the peak bloom the placement of which made it look like the pink cherry pictures immediately above were being called plums
Ron, its not a caption. I always put the sentences which explain the pictures above the pictures. "Mumes at the park and Higo-Hosokawa Garden were after the peak bloom" It's the explanation of the picture below. If you enlarge the picture below, you can see Mumes near the house.
★Early blooming Cherries at the Hotel Chinzan-so Tokyo on February 22, 2021 No.2 Some Mumes and one Kawazu-zakura were blooming near the back gate of the Hotel Chinzan-so. There is one Okame just started blooming near the building. Two Shuzenji-kan-zakuras were blooming. Shuzenji is the name of the town in Izu peninsula. I think they are rare in Tokyo. I found the cherry map the hotel made. They have 21 kinds of cherries in the Garden. I hope to visit it again. There were some Kawazu-zakura and one Kanhi-zakura blooming near the front entrance of the hotel.
★Kyu-nakagawa Riverside Park on February 28, 2021 On February 28, 2021, I visited Kyu-Nakagawa Riverside Park for the second time. Kyu-Nakagawa-river locates in the downtown of Tokyo between Kameido Station and Hirai Station. I visited there on February 8, 2017 (#160). At that time Kawazu-zakura was 60% bloom and O-kan-zakura hadn’t started blooming yet. But this time Kawazu-zakuras were full bloom and O-kan-zakuras were 60 % bloom. They were worth viewing. There are 28 Kawazu-zakuras and 7 O-kan-zakuras there. O-kan-zakura has paler pink flowers and becomes larger than Kawazu-zakura. It was a warm fine day so a lot of people visited there. Kawazu-zakura O-kan-zakura O-kan-zakura(left) and Kwazu-zakura(right) A lot of birds were there, too. Especially a lot of sparrows. I crossed the bridge and went the other side. There are bushes of Hydrangea on the other side of the river. I think they made nests there. Somei-yoshinos were still quiet. I saw a White Cheeked Starling there. Kawaza-zakura near my place were already finishing on that day. But flowers by the water were rather late.
★Somei-yoshino started to bloom in Hiroshima on March 11, 2021 Somei-yoshino started to bloom in Hiroshima on March 11, 2021 It’s the second earliest record in Japan since 1953. The earliest record is March 10, 2010 in Kochi, Shikoku Island.. Recently Somei-yoshino starts to bloom first in Kyusyu Island, Shikoku Island or Tokyo. I think Hiroshima first is rare. On March 12, Somei-yoshino started blooming in Fukuoka, Kyusyu Island. We are having very warm March. So in Tokyo it might bloom on March 14 or it will start blooming by March16 at the latest. Cherry Blossom Forecast in 2021
★Somei-yoshino started to bloom in Tokyo on March 14, 2021 Today, March 14, 2021, Meteorological Agency declared the blooming of Somei-yoshino in Tokyo. The standard tree at Yasukuni shrine had more than 5 flowers. It’s the earliest record in Tokyo as last year. We had some very warm days last week and the temperature went up over 18 degrees. Today it went up to 18.2. The weather forecast said it would be 20 degrees tomorrow, on Monday and it would be 22 degrees on Tuesday. Somei-yoshinos around my place hasn’t started blooming yet. But they will bloom in short.
★Koishikawa Botanical Garden on March23, 2021 The Meteorological Agency declared the full bloom of Somei-yoshino in Tokyo on March 22. But even the next day, Somei-yoshinos on Harima-zaka Slope were 60 % bloom. Most of the Somei-yoshinos at Koishikawa Botanical Garden were less than 60%. But they were beautiful. Harima-zaka Slope Koishikawa BG Somei-yoshinos Beni-shidare Maples leaves started to grow. Amagi-yoshino (It became smaller tan before) the Bully tree next to it. 4 cherres at the back side of Cherry Garden; Kan-zakura(green) Yama-zakura(white) yama-zakura(finisshed) and last blooming somei-yoshino in the Botanical Garden, not blooming yet White unknown cherry Shidare-zakura & Edo-higan Oshima-zakuras Yama-zakuras other flowers in the Botanical Garden
★It’s May 5, 2021 today. All the cherries finished in and around Tokyo in the middle of April. I hoped to visit Northern or higher places then but the new patients of COVID-19 increased terribly all over Japan then. I had to give up visiting there. The third State of Emergency started in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo on April 25. It’s stricter than second one and gardens, amusement parks, public halls and large sport facilities are closed now. This year Somei-yoshino started blooming record early on March 14. It was the same as last year. But the weather after blooming was completely different. Last year after somei-yoshino started blooming, it became rather cold again. The highest temperature stayed 10 to 14 degrees and once it snowed!! But this year the temperature stayed very warm like 20 degrees or more all the way. The cherry front went north very quickly. Somei-yoshino started to bloom in Sapporo, the capital city of Hokkaido, the North Island, on April 22. (Last year the blooming date was May 2.) Now all the Somei-yoshinos in Hokkaido are full bloom or start falling. Only O-yama-zakuras are going to bloom in North and east Hokkaido. The blooming date of this year on May 5 Yushun Sakura Road in Hokkaido on May 5 I’m very sorry I couldn't post anything. But the second State of Emergency finished on March 22 and I went to see cherries several times. I took to many photos and I couldn’t post in time. They became out of date but I’d like to post what I saw this cherry season.
★Kichijo-ji Temple & Ueno Park on March 24,2021 (No.1) It was a perfect day for cherry viewing, but I was still coughing. So my husband and I chose the places where we can walk to. We first visited Kichijo-ji Temple where I visited last year(#255). Two Shidare-zakuras, Somei-yoshinos some Yae-benishidares and etc. were full bloom and many other cherries. There I found a very interesting tree or trees. Oshima cherry and Camphor Laurel became one tree. They have one trunk and didn’t look nice. Perhaps they were planted or grew too close, so their trunks had to grow in the same place.and the Camphor laurel became strong but wrong position. Then we were going to Rikugi-en Garden to see a large Shidare-zakura. But we heard the garden wasn’t open yet. The State of emergency in Tokyo and close 3 district finished on March 21. The number of new COVID-19 patients in Tokyo didn’t decrease enough but there weren’t good effects to continue the things the federal government asked people. So the government of Tokyo still hadn’t opened a zoos and gardens. We had to change our plan and we decided to walk to Ueno. On the way we found a heritage house of 100 years old. It is a mixture of Japanese and western style. It was rare at that time. There was a Beni-shidare in the garden. It became too tall. You cant’t see the flowers on the first floor. But it was beautiful from the second floor.
Cherries, temples and a history lesson of the buildings you saw. 'Wonderful' Mariko. My wife and I will sadly never visit there, so we both enjoyed looking at this very much indeed.
★Kichijo-ji Temple & Ueno Park on March 24,2021(No.2) Ueno was too far for walking. We gave up walking and took a bus to Ueno. There Somei-yoshinos were full bloom in Ueno Park. It was a week day and under COVID-19, but there were so many people for cherry viewing. Lake Shinobas and around The flowering trees I saw first time : might be Flowering Peach or Almond The walk in the garden was divided into two way and we couldn’t picnic there as usual cherry seasons. We became tired and hoped to have beverage but the cafe at the square was so crowded. We walk to the café at the Art Gallery of Tokyo Metropolitan which locates just back of the square. It was so quiet. Many exhibition was canceled and for some we had to have reservations. It was so quire that the main part of the park was very crowded and the place just next to them was so quiet.
★April 26, 2021, Edogawa Park, Higo-Hosokawa Garden & Chinzan-so and Harima-zaka Slope & Koishikawa BG(NO.1) ★Edogawa Park On April 26, I took a community bus and visited Edogawa-bashi Park to see Somei-yoshinos blooming. It was the second visit this year but I hadn’t visited there when Somei-yoshinos were peek bloom for about 20 years. Now Somei-yoshinos are planted (or remained) mostly one side of the Kanda River. Only a few places have Somei-yoshinos both sides. There they grew branches downwards to the river and beautiful. ★Higo-Hosokawa Garden There weren’t many cherries blooming at Higo-Hosokawa Garden. Also the cherries there weren’t very healthy looking.
★April 26, 2021, Edogawa Park, Higo-Hosokawa Garden & Chinzan-so and Harima-zaka Slope (No.2) ★Hotel Chinzan-so Now the hotel was busier than last time, on February 22(#300). The café which was closed last time was open. We had a light lunch. Several groups were having lunch outside. There weren’t so many Somei-yoshinos, but the garden with cherries were nice. Takato-kohigan (single) & unknown double cherry which have a name plate of Kohigan (single) Chinzan-so in Chinese character is “椿山荘”. It means Camellia Mountain Retreat. A lot of Camellias were blooming there. ★Harima-zaka Slope Om my way home, I got off the bus before Harima-zaka Slope and walked there. Somei-yoshinos there were older and more healthy and beautiful than Edogaw-bashi Park. It became windy and petals were falling beautifully.
★Koishikawa Botanical Garden , March 27,2021 Koishikawa Botanical Garden was peak bloom on March 27, 2021. Chosyu-hizakura started blooming. (smaller one) Hybrid Somei-yoshino(right) was changing its colour. March 23 ************************* March 27 Ichiyo started to bloom. The Somei-yoshino which used to be the largest (or widest) broke and became half size. 2017 ***************************** 2021 In the forest part, Murasaki-zakura was blooming. Around the Japanese Garden I found a cherry tree down near the entrance which ha a name plate of O-yama-zakura. But it didn’t look like O-yama-zakura. It might be Murasaki-zakura. There was a larger tree which has a name plate of O-yama-zakura. It had white flowers but looked like more like O-yama-zakura.
The limbs in the last photo in post #317 are very beautiful. Wow! That's very interesting where it broke. Am I seeing that right - they have trimmed the trunk that broke off and that's it on the ground next to it? I imagine I'm seeing where it used to fit.
I'm not quite sure about the stump and I can't check it now because Botanical Barden is still closed under the State of Emergency. But I think you are right. Here is an enlarged picture. You can see the trunk look like now. As far as I checked my photos, I found it was broken on June 13, 2019, when I visited there to check the fruits of cherries. As far as I can search, there wasn't any storm before then. I couldn't take and post pictures of the tree blooming last year because of the closure of the garden under COVID-19 last spring. Also I don't have any picture of that tree in 2019. I had my knee-ache and visited Koishikawa BG just once when the weather wasn't good. I think the tree was all right at the time or I should have taken photos. The good pictures of the tree were taken in 2017. I enlarged the trunk. You can see the line which showed the trunk became week. There is a famous Chines poem of Liu Yuxi, "年年歳歳花相似 歳歳年年人不同" "Year after year flowers bloom similar. But year after year people can't stay the same." But I think even trees are similar to people. They can't stay the same year after year.
★Kamakura on March 29, 2021(No.1) We visited Kamakura again on March 29, 2021. It was a beautiful day and Kamakura is the place worth visiting to see cherries blooming. It is surrounded by low mountains. You can see not only cherries with temples and shrines, but also wild cherries far on the low mountains. ★Around Kita-kamakura statio ★Engaku-ji Temple ★The way to Meigetsu-in Temple ★Meigetsu-in Temple Meigetsu-in is famous for Hydrangeas and Irises. So it was the first time I've visited there at cherry time. But cherries there also very wonderful. ★Soup curry lunch with 18 kinds of vegetables cooked 17 ways
My wife qnd I are absolutely loving all of this Mariko and that Moon window shot is so very dream like. Gorgeous!!
★Kamakura on March 29, 2021(No.２) Then we walked to Kencho-ji Temple and Tsurugaoka-hashimangu Shrine. ★Kencho-ji Temple There were unknown cherry trees which has flowers of Yae-beni-shidare but not weeping Mai-hime?? We walked up to Hanzo-bo Shrine. There are Tengu statures. You can see Kencho-ji Temple down. ★Turugaoka Hachimangu Shrine We walked into the shrine from the back entrance. There weren’t so many cherries at the main part of shrine. There are many cherries blooming around the ponds near the front entrance.
★Kamakura on March 29, 2021(No.3) ★Dan-kazura In Kamakura, cherries on Dan-kazura, raised path leading to the shrine, are famous. But when we visited there April 9, 2021(#52), Cherries there weren’t healthy looking. They replanted them in 2017. Now young cherries looked nice. But Dan-kazura is not a good place to plant Somei-yoshinos. Somei-yoshinos grow quickly and want to stretch their branches downwards. But they don’t have enough space to grow their roots and beside of the Dan-kazura is a busy road. I hope they can stay healthy long. We were planned to walk to the Genji-yama Park. We hadn’t been there but the web said there were more than 600 cherry trees in the park. Then we hoped to visit the Large Buddha of Kamakura which I haven’t seen with cherries. But we lost and we dropped at the small temple on the way. ★Eisyo-ji Temple ★ Genji-yama Park The temple must had been near the park but we couldn’t arrive the entrance of the park. We used Google guide. But it took us more than 20 minutes to the wrong side of the park. There was a shrine but not so many cherries. We gave up walking to the Buddha and went back to Kamakura Station and saw the other side of Dan-Kazura. Next time we'll start from the Buddha.
