Yayoi—March. Stepping out of the Palaceside Building into the warm spring air, two Kawazu cherry trees in front of neighboring Marubeni headquarters are in full bloom. People with phones in hand never stop coming to photograph the beautiful blossoms. Perhaps they want even a little lift from the gloom of the pandemic.
Known as an early-blooming cherry, the Kawazu cherry was found around 1955 in Kawazu Town, Shizuoka Prefecture, and took that name. It is thought to be a natural cross of Oshima and Kanhi cherries, and is a deeper pink than Somei Yoshino. Unlike Somei Yoshino, which scatters in a rush, the Kawazu cherry’s charm is that you can enjoy the flowers for a while.
When will Somei Yoshino open? According to the Japan Weather Association’s forecast on February 24, much of western Japan through the Kanto region will be near average. The nationwide first bloom is expected in Kumamoto on March 21, with Tokyo a day later on the 22nd. Heart-lifting spring cannot come soon enough.