Kitakami Kakunodate Hitome 6 Senbonzakura Tenshochi Samurai Park Residences 1 1 2 2

JR Kakunodate Station walk 20min boat 5min Access JR Kitakami Access Station or Average blooming period: late-April ~ early May walk 20min Against the backdrop of old samurai residences, the sakura at Kakunodate are the dramatic dark pink weeping sakura, with branches that fall downward. You Average blooming period: mid-April ~ early May NORTHERN can enjoy a ride through the district on rickshaw! The sakura are equally With over 10,000 sakura trees of 150 varieties spread over its 293ha grounds, impressive at night, when they are illuminated. A 10-min walk from the samurai Kitakami Tenshochi Park is where you are sure to be able to catch the sakura TOHOKU residences is the Hinokinai River, which is lined with the common light pink blooming any time between mid-April (someiyoshino) to early May someiyoshino cherry blossoms and yellow daffodils. (kasumizakura). Experience a unique way of viewing sakura by taking a horse-wagon ride under the trees! 4 Koiwai Farm Ipponzakura 3 Castle Park Access JR Morioka Station bus 30min 15min Access JR Hirosaki Station bus Average blooming period: late-April ~ early May

Average blooming period: late-April ~ early May Against the backdrop of the majestic Mt. Iwate, a lone sakura tree 「ipponzakura」stands in the middle of the expansive grounds of Koiwai Farm. One of the best spots in for sakura viewing, and its Aomori surrounding park are most stunning in spring, when the 2,600 sakura trees are Shin-Aomori in full bloom. The sakura carpet, formed when fallen petals accumulate on the 3 and cover it in pink, is definitely a sight not to be missed! Hirosaki Hachinohe 4 Higashi-Noshiro 3 4 Kuji Akita 2 Morioka

Hanamaki Kamaishi

Sakata 1 CHERRY BLOSSOMS Ichinoseki Shinjo Kesennuma Tsuruoka 10

1 Takato Castle Ruins Park Shin-Aomori Yamagata 5 Sado Is. Sendai 6 Hitome Senbonzakura Airport Access JR Chino Station bus 55min Niigata Hachinohe 5min Hirosaki 6 JR Ogawara Station walk Bus is covered by JR East Pass 5 Funaoka Joshi Park Niitsu Fukushima Average blooming period: early ~ mid-April ( Nagano, Niigata Area ) Kitakata Access Funaoka Joshi Park 5min Higashi-Noshiro JR Funaoka Station walk 15min 7 walk One of the「 Top 3 Famous Sakura Viewing Spots in Japan 」. Its unique variety Kuji Access Aizu-Wakamatsu of sakura - the Takato Kohigan Zakura, can only be found here. It has a light NAGANO Koriyama Average blooming period: early ~ mid-April reddish pink color and dense blossoms, which make it very photogenic. Average blooming period: early ~ mid-April 9 Morioka Joetsumyoko Akita Tokamachi 8 Hitome Senbonzakura literally means "1,000 Sakura in One Glance". NIIGATA Take a retro-style slope car at Funaoka Joshi Park to Echigo-Yuzawa Lining an 8km stretch along the Shiroishi River on both sides are around enjoy a ride through a 300m tunnel of cherry blossoms Minami Otari Iiyama Minakami 1,200 sakura trees. With the snow-capped Mt. Zao in the background, and take in the panoramic view from the top. the sight of sakura with snow is one that is unique to the Tohoku region. Hanamaki Nagano Nikko 1 Utsunomiya Komoro Takasaki Sakata Mito Ichinoseki Narita Shinjo Airport Kesennuma Matsumoto Terminal 6 5 Omiya Yokokawa 2 • 3 Tsuruoka Ueno

Kofu Yamagata Sendai Otsuki Sado Is. Narita Sendai Tokyo Airport Airport 3 Haneda Terminal 1 Niigata Atami Airport Niitsu Fukushima Kitakata 3 Ito Izukyu-Shimoda Koriyama min 2 Aizu-Wakamatsu Access JR Matsumoto Station walk 15 Joetsumyoko Tokamachi Average blooming period: early ~ mid-April Echigo-Yuzawa Minami Otari Iiyama Minakami With its stone foundation and surrounding moat, Matsumoto Castle is truly a sight 7 8 to behold against the backdrop of mountains and beautiful blue skies on a clear Nagano Nikko day. During sakura season, the view is further enhanced with the light pink cherry Utsunomiya 4 Komoro blossoms complementing the black castle. 7 Hanamiyama Park 8 Miharu Takizakura Takasaki Mito Matsumoto Narita Airport JR Fukushima Station bus 15min JR Miharu Station bus 20min 3 Terminal Access Access Yokokawa Omiya 2 • 3 Ueno Average blooming period: early ~ mid-April Average blooming period: mid ~ late April (only during sakura season) 1 Hanamiyama literally means "Flower-viewing Mountain". You can see not just pale SOUTHERN Often considered to be the most beautiful sakura tree in Japan, the Miharu Kofu pink sakura, but also dark pink peach blossoms and bright yellow forsythia Takizakura is an ancient sakura tree over 1,000 years old. It stands at 12m, with Otsuki Tokyo Narita depending on when you visit. As it is perched on a hill, from Hanamiyama Park you branches spread 20m wide. Its branches hang downward, making the flowers look Airport can get a panoramic view of the city below, and even of Mt. Azuma in the distance. TOHOKU like a waterfall of sakura, hence the name Takizakura (literally "Waterfall Sakura"). Haneda Terminal 1 2 Atami Airport Ito 4 2 Takada Castle Izukyu-Shimoda 9 Tsuruga Castle 10 Kajo Park Echigo TOKImeki Railway 15min 4 Hakuba Oide Park Access Takada Station walk JR Aizu-Wakamatsu Station bus 20min JR Yamagata Station walk 5min Echigo TOKImeki Railway between JoetsumyokoStation and Takada Station is covered by JR East Pass JR Hakuba Station walk 10min Access Access (Nagano, Niigata Area) (Nagano, Niigata Area) Access Average blooming period: mid ~ late April Average blooming period: mid ~ late April Average blooming period: early ~ mid-April Average blooming period: mid ~ late April Nestled in the middle of Tsuruga Castle Park is Tsuruga Castle, one of Kajo Park is the site of the former castle ground of Famed as one of the「 Top 3 Spots in Japan to View Sakura at Night 」, the view of Takada A sight unique to northern mountainous areas, Hakuba Oide Park is where you Aizu-Wakamatsu's best viewing spots. The unique castle . The 1,500 cherry blossom trees make it Castle's 4,000 sakura trees attracts over 1 million people each sakura season. During the can see pink cherry blossoms together with the magnificent snow-capped features red roof tiles, and is the only castle in Japan to do so. The park's one of Yamagata's best sakura viewing spots, in particular festival period (early-late April), illuminations are on from sunset until 9pm. Entrance is free Hakuba mountain range in the background, with the bright blue Himekawa nearly 1,000 sakura trees bloom around mid ~ late April, and are the rows of trees along the east and south , which and the park is open 24hr! During the festival there are a variety of food stalls for you to enjoy. River flowing in front of you. 9 illuminated during the full bloom period. are illuminated at night during the full bloom period! 10