Follow the Parade of Cherry Blossom Festivals and Parties in Japan
Japan springs into party and festival mode with the appearance of cherry blossoms. From mid-March to April’s end, national TV news concludes with a cherry blossom forecast. The climb of the pale petaled wonders from Japan’s subtropical Okinawa to the tippy top island of Hokkaido is announced. (Okinawans start their festivals in late January. Hokkaido farmers typically celebrate in late April or early May.)
Hirosaki Castle in Aomori hosts their annual famous festival between April 23rd and May 5th. (A hop and a jump across the Tsugaru Strait and you’re in Hokkaido.) Celebrating a centennial of cherry blossom festivals in 2017, the Hirosaki Festival will run until May 7th this year. This is sakura (cherry blossom in Japanese) enchantment at its best. You and the kidlets can row in the castle moat. In the evening, you can cuddle with your spouse as the cherry blossoms are illuminated. (Lights illumine the sakura during Tokyo’s Bokutei Festival, too.) The pale pinks and white petals blanketing Hirosaki Park are impressive, too.
Speaking of blankets, when sakura appear, Japanese flock ...
