GUNMA, March 22 — Ume Japanese apricot blossoms are in full bloom at Misato Ume Groves in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, a major ume growing region, attracting visitors.
Roughly 100,000 ume trees are cultivated on a 300-hectare land by some 200 farming households that belong to the ume group of JA Hagukumi Misato, a local agricultural cooperative.
Visitors can enjoy the landscape of ume trees spreading their branches with the Kanto plain in the background.
Sixty percent of the trees are the Shirokaga variety, used to produce ume liquor and pickles. Several other small-size ume varieties are planted, including Orihime and Koshu, as the trees require cross-pollination to bear fruit.
The harvest season for ume fruit is around a month from May to June. Large-size ume like Shirokaga is picked by hand, while small-size varieties are harvested by using machinery to shake the trees and make the fruit fall.
Akiyoshi Nakazato, 69, head of the ume group, explains, “Shirokaga has a good texture. It is also characterized by a relatively small pit and much flesh.”
Takuya Iwasaki, 26, who came from Isezaki in Gunma Prefecture to view the blossoms, said happily, “I was impressed by how beautifully they are blooming. I felt the coming of spring.”
Japanese apricot trees bloom at Misato Ume Groves in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, with the Kanto plain seen in the background.