I was debating what to do on my second day of vacation, when I read in my 1,000 Places to See Before You Die that Yoshino is THE place to go in Japan to view the cherry blossoms. Since I missed the cherry blossoms last year due to traveling in Thailand, I was anxious to escape to a Sakura filled wonderland. My first stop was the Kimpusenji Temple, built in 1592.
Yoshino is a beautiful little mountain town in the Nara prefecture. It is covered with tens of thousands of mountain cherry trees split into three main groves of over a thousand trees each. They are divided up into different parts of the mountain and different altitudes, which are said to bloom at different times of the year. Unfortunately, I was there a bit early. So, I saw many trees on the bottom of the mountain, but fewer and fewer the further up I hiked. The ones that I did see were magnificent as you can see below.
I was thrilled that the blossoms were so many different colors. This bright pink tree has been my favorite so far. Pair the astounding burst of color with the gentle calm and ambiance of the town and I had the most peaceful stroll on the mountain. It really did make my soul soar.
My next stop was the Yoshimizu-jinjya Shrine. It boasts the oldest remaining example of Shoin style architecture. This includes the use of tatami mats, suspended ceilings, intricately designed ceilings, and sliding doors.
I spent the entire day hiking through the town and up the mountain. It was pretty tiring. Actually, I made it within 30 minutes of the top, but decided to go back down. At that point, I noticed that the cherry trees weren't in bloom due to the altitude and I was sick of hiking, so I turned around and spent my extra time browsing in the shops before they closed.
Along the path, I noticed some beautiful paintings. I went inside the building and saw this man doing a portrait for a woman right there. I bought a piece of his art and a postcard that his father painted and couldn't leave without a picture with the artist.
This little sakura blossom is the mascot of Yoshino in the spring and they have an autumn maple leaf mascot in the fall. The town representatives were super pumped for me to take a picture with it. They came and got me off the staircase where I was resting in order to take my picture.
I think that the people here don't see many foreigners, because they all were really excited to see me. So many times throughout the day I was stopped by strangers who just wanted to say hello. Most of them didn't know much beyond hello and thank you, but it was really fun for them to try. So far, this is one of my favorite little towns in Japan. Maybe I'll try to make it back in the fall for the changing leaves.
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