Japan’s Top 100 Blossoms: Arashiyama (Kyoto)
Guideto Japan
Travel
Arashiyama has been renowned for its blossoms since the thirteenth century, when Emperor Go-Saga built an imperial villa here and transplanted several hundred cherry trees from Mount Yoshino. It is one of the most popular hanami destinations in Kyoto, where visitors can enjoy not only yamazakura—as they might have appeared several centuries ago—but also somei yoshino and shidarezakura.
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Arashiyama Park is divided into the Nakanoshima area, near the famed Togetsu-kyō bridge, and the Kameyama area further upstream on the opposite shore. The latter’s observation deck offers a sweeping vista of the Hozu River valley, noted for its scenic rides down the rapids on traditional, flat bottomed-boats. The river flows past national forests where many yamazakura have been planted and are wonderful hanami spots in their own right.
Arashiyama (Kyoto)
- Varieties: yamazakura, shidarezakura, somei yoshino
- No. of trees: 1,500 (near Togetsu-kyō bridge)
- When: Early to mid-April
- Hours: Open 24 hrs.
- Admission: Free
- Address: Arashiyama, Nishikyō-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
- Website: Kyoto City
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- Kyoto’s Cherry Blossoms: Spring 2018
- Getting Around Kyoto: The Randen, Eizan, and Sagano Scenic Railways
Nearby hanami sites
- Ninna-ji Temple
- Daigo-ji Temple
- Kasagiyama Natural Park
- Kyoto Gyoen National Garden: A Stroll Among the Cherry Trees
- Kurumazaki: Kyoto’s “Cherry-Blossom Shrine”
- Keage Incline: Disused Kyoto Rail Line Now a Spot for Sakura Lovers
- A Lone Cherry in a Zen Garden: Kyoto’s Kōdaiji
- Maruyama Park and the Weeping Cherry of Gion
- Memories of the Ancient Imperial Court at Kyoto’s Heian Jingū
- Kyoto’s Ninnaji: Pagoda in a Sea of Blossoms
- A Blossom-Viewing Stroll Along Kyoto’s Philosopher’s Walk
Near Arashiyama
- Foreign Tourists Flock to the Gates of Fushimi Inari Shrine
- The Million Yen Temple Experience: Kyoto’s Ninnaji
- Best Kyoto Spots for Ume Flower Viewing: Kitano Tenmangū, Jōnangū, and Umenomiya Taisha
- Amanohashidate: The Flying Dragon of “Kyoto by the Sea”
- Kyoto’s Yasaka Shrine Combines Elements of Shintō and Buddhism
- Kyoto’s World Heritage: Kamigamo and Shimogamo Shrines
Sakura 100: Japan’s Best Blossoms
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)
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