The Sakura front has finally reached Tokyo! The city is now covered in white from the cherry blossoms. On Saturday, I went to Yasukuni shrine and the Chidorigafuchi area (north of the imperial palace) for the Chiyoda Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Festival). Although peak bloom was supposed to start a few days later, it was already quite spectacular.
After the plum festival at Yoshino Baigo in Ome, I went on a hike to Mount Hinode and Mount Mitake. At the end of the day, I took the Mitake funicular to get down to the valley then walked from the lower station to the Mitake train station.
The Yoshino Baigo Plum Festival in Ome City is taking place until the end of March. It features more than 1,000 plum trees displaying white and pink flowers, which makes it the largest plum festival in Tokyo. The closest station is Hinatawada on the Okutama line.
At 131m, Kyoto Tower (京都タワー) is Kyoto’s tallest building. The observatory is at 100m and offers a great view on the city.
On my last day in Kyoto, I went on a random walk: I passed through the Imperial Park, walked along the Kamo River and visited the Higashiyama neighbourhood.
On my last day in Kyoto, I went to the Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社, Fushimi Inari Taisha). It is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto, famous for its thousands of red torii gates along a series of trails that go from the base of Mount Inari to the summit.
Nijo Castle (二条城; Nijōjō) was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo Period (1603-1867).
Located in Kyoto’s eastern mountain range on Mount Hiei (比叡山), Enryakuji (延暦寺) is one of the most important monasteries in Japanese history. Enryakuji’s temples are concentrated in three areas: Todo (east area), Saito (west area) and Yokawa (which I did not visit). I went there using the Sakamoto Cablecar, the longest cable car route in Japan. While I was there, it was raining heavily and there was a lot of fog.
