The plum trees are going to be at peak bloom this weekend—here are my favorite places to see them! • YUSHIMA SHRINE This is one of the most beautiful shrines in Tokyo, and it not only has a ton of plum trees, it has a festival to celebrate them the whole month of February, withContinue reading “The fourteen best places in Tokyo to see plum blossoms in bloom!”
Tag Archives: plum blossoms
Plum Blossoms Lit Up At Night
The Yushima Shrine is famous for its plum blossoms, and until the end of February, you can see them lit up at night! Even if you’re a cherry blossom loyalist (in which case I sentence you to visiting all my favorite plum tree gardens and upgrading your flower preferences JUST SAYIN’) it’s a grand opportunity toContinue reading “Plum Blossoms Lit Up At Night”
Lost In A Forest Of Blooming Plum Trees
Yesterday I got to stumble around doing a 360˚ gawk in a forest of plum trees wearing all their favorite clothes at once. Kairakuen Garden in Mito was planted by a genius of a daimyo who totally got that too much of a good thing is never enough. 2,490 fluffy-branched trees later, I think I can safely say that this is the plum blossom extravaganza to end allContinue reading “Lost In A Forest Of Blooming Plum Trees”
Girls’ Day Dolls…On Steroids
There’s a little town about two hours from Tokyo called Katsuura, where one a year, dolls rule. 12,000 of them, to be exact. So, how did Katsuura get so many dolls? The truth is, pretty much every Japanese girlbaby is given a set on her first New Year’s, but if you run out of girls to hand them down to, they’re really hard toContinue reading “Girls’ Day Dolls…On Steroids”
Plum Blossom Countdown
All of February (and a little of March) is the best time to see fluffy pink and white and red beauties bursting like popcorn all over Tokyo. Here are the best places to see them, in order of when they bloom: Note: These photos were all taken from 2014-2016, so depending on how warm or coldContinue reading “Plum Blossom Countdown”
Where To See The Best Plum Blossoms In Tokyo
I am a total, total sucker for plum blossoms. The flowers are much more beautiful than cherry blossoms up close, and you gotta admire that the damn things even bloom in the snow. I mean, they famously bloom in the snow (thousands of haiku can’t be wrong.) Here are my favorite places in Tokyo to see them,Continue reading “Where To See The Best Plum Blossoms In Tokyo”
Just When You Think It’s Safe To Ditch The Muffler…
Yep, if the plum trees are blooming, that means a giant dump of snow is just around the corner. This particular dashing of spring hopes comes with such clocklike regularity in Japan that haiku masters use “plum blossom” when they’re actually talking about surviving life’s more bitter lessons. •
Only In Japan 