The cherry blossoms in Japan

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cherry blossoms in Japan

One of the quintessential symbols of spring in Japan is the cherry blossom. Since ancient times, Japanese people have always felt a deep admiration for the spectacle of the cherry trees in parks and gardens to the arrival of spring. The length and breadth of Japan, the blooming of these trees is a cause for national celebration.

festival of Hanami

During the festival of Hanami, the Japanese get together with family and friends to share a picnic and a good “sake” under the cherry blossoms. Such is his importance, that Japan’s weather bureau is responsible for the prediction of cherry blossom. In this link, you can do the daily monitoring of the evolution of flowering cherry, with images of the shoots of the branches in several fixed points of Tokyo. And in this one, you have a list of several parks and places where you can admire the beauty of this natural spectacle.

The Black Castle Okayama

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okayama castle

If you’re in Tokyo and you are holding the Japan Rail Pass, I highly recommend it, then you might want to make a trip to Okayama. This site is known for here is the Korakuen Garden, one of the big three Japanese gardens, but also houses a beautiful black castle and if you like all you have to do with the Japanese feudalism, it is beautiful.

Okayama is in the Chugoku region on the southern coast of Honshu island and getting there is easy. Tomas the Sanyo Shinkansen that goes to Kobe and Hiroshima, and which way these two cities is the Okayama station. From here you leave the express train crossing the Seto inland sea to Takamatsu and other destinations.

Once in Okayama you can move using the JR train line that runs down the street to the very Momotaro Okayama Castle or Castillo Cuervo, as well as popularly called. Why do you say so? Because it is one of the two castles across the country that is painted black (the other is the Matsumoto Castle.)

The castle was built in 1597 but the original structure was destroyed by the bombs of World War II so that what we see today is a reconstruction of the ’60s. It has six floors and served Asahi River pit. Today the interior is modern and has a display of its history, development and destruction. Only one of the original buildings of the castle complex escaped the bombs, an observation tower of the moon which dates from 1620.

While not an original castle worth knowing