TOKUSHIMA, Apr. 4 – Approximately 500 weeping sakura cherry blossom trees are in full bloom in Kamiyama Town, Tokushima Prefecture. The flowers are smaller than usual this year due to a lack of rainfall, but they began to bloom on March 28.
Kinichi Sasaki, a 92-year-old sudachi citrus grower, planted the cherry blossom trees covering an approximately 1.5-hectare site. (Sudachi is a small, round, green citrus fruit of Japanese origin and a specialty product of Tokushima Prefecture.) He started planting the trees 18 years ago with only three seedlings of Kamiyama Weeping Cherry Blossoms he received from his friend. Even after he gave up farming due to old age, he continued to plant the trees on his once the sudachi field every year at his own expense to cover the entire mountain with flowers.
He named his sakura garden “Yuka no Sato” and made walking trails and rest stops. He continues to manage the garden by himself so that people can enjoy the cherry blossoms in full bloom. The garden has more than 2,000 visitors a day during sunny weekends. “I’m happy to have so many visitors during the cherry blossom season. Please enjoy them and be happy,” he said.
Yuka no Sato with weeping cherry blossom trees in full bloom (in Kamiyama Town, Tokushima Prefecture)