Japan Cherry Blossoms 2023
Japan’s first cherry blossoms of 2023 have bloomed! And no, it is not global warming gone wild, it is a specific type of cherry called the “kanhizakura” which blooms in January in Okinawa, Japan’s most southerly island. The rest of Japan will enjoy its cherry blossom season in the months ahead, typically in March, so it was quite a happy surprise to discover we might be able to see cherry blossoms in Japan during the depths of winter in January!
These shots were taken at Nakijin Castle Ruins, a world heritage listed site, which has an annual cherry blossom festival in late January. We weren’t in Okinawa for the festival but visited one day before and saw the cherry blossoms out at 40-50%, which was still very nice.
The castle site also had some very impressive old stone walls and buttresses so it was a very nice setting for viewing cherry blossoms.