Mt Yoshino is known for Sakura - and so as we were in the area (about 2 hours away) and it was peak blooms, we thought it would be a super idea to see it for ourselves.
With one stamp left to use up on our local multi-train ticket, we ended up travelling separately. Julia took the faster private line (2,200 yen) and out of the goodness of his heart (or maybe it is because he is better at navigating) Chris took the slower (more changes) local JR train route using the pass.
Mt Yoshino is a popular place this time of year, as the local people try and get their Sukura fix - there must have been thousands of people and we were lucky to find each other at the station when we met back up.
There are three ways up the mountain - bus (the queue was huge), ropeway (Japan is known for technology, but this was from the stone age... and there was a huge queue), or walk. We decided to walk.
There were also options for which way to walk up - one which zig-zags under the gondola and another, which goes up the valley. We thought we would do a loop, so headed for the zig-zag up the mountain under the sakura trees.
As you climb you get a better and better view of the famous blossoms, and not just on the surrounding hills, as you are surrounded by it. It is quite magical (and very pink). The cherry blossom here are slightly different to the ones we have seen before - the trees have many more leaves and the blossoms are not as 'bushy', but the sheer number and contrast against the green of the pine trees and light green of the maples, make it an awesome sight.
When you get to the top, the road leads round to the left and along the ridge, via several shrines and Torii. Oh and shops... lots of shops. Now this is lovely if you want to shop and buy more chopsticks or more Japanese sweets (we are not the biggest fans), but we were there to see blossom, not shops and so it was a bit disappointing that the view was obscured for a long stretch. This coupled with the huge number of people, led to a slow plodding walk with shops either side as we tried to find a view-point.
We found a great view at one of the shrines giving us the chance to see the blossoms across the valley, which was lovely (even if we needed to fight to get to the front).
At the end of the shopping street the landscape opened up and we found a great little hill which we could climb for a view. With many people having a picnic under the trees here, it was a great spot to rest and take in the view before heading back down the valley towards the station.
It was a really nice day out, if a long one. There aren't too many eating options so take some food, but travel down there was easy enough and we got back in time for Pizza!
Kyoto and Mt Yoshino was a magical end to our time in Japan. We really felt we had seen the cherry blossom at its best and it was a spectacular finale to the colourful show we had experience unfolding right across the country during our time here. Next stop...China!
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| Surrounded my sakura on Mt Yoshino |
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| More blossom at a different angle... love the contrast between the green and pines |
Mt Yoshino is a popular place this time of year, as the local people try and get their Sukura fix - there must have been thousands of people and we were lucky to find each other at the station when we met back up.
There are three ways up the mountain - bus (the queue was huge), ropeway (Japan is known for technology, but this was from the stone age... and there was a huge queue), or walk. We decided to walk.
 |
| One of the not particularly helpful maps we came across! |
There were also options for which way to walk up - one which zig-zags under the gondola and another, which goes up the valley. We thought we would do a loop, so headed for the zig-zag up the mountain under the sakura trees.
As you climb you get a better and better view of the famous blossoms, and not just on the surrounding hills, as you are surrounded by it. It is quite magical (and very pink). The cherry blossom here are slightly different to the ones we have seen before - the trees have many more leaves and the blossoms are not as 'bushy', but the sheer number and contrast against the green of the pine trees and light green of the maples, make it an awesome sight.
 |
| ...more sakura |
We found a great view at one of the shrines giving us the chance to see the blossoms across the valley, which was lovely (even if we needed to fight to get to the front).
 |
| Quite a unique view of... yes you've guessed it... sakura |
At the end of the shopping street the landscape opened up and we found a great little hill which we could climb for a view. With many people having a picnic under the trees here, it was a great spot to rest and take in the view before heading back down the valley towards the station.
 |
| Heading back down to the station |
It was a really nice day out, if a long one. There aren't too many eating options so take some food, but travel down there was easy enough and we got back in time for Pizza!
Kyoto and Mt Yoshino was a magical end to our time in Japan. We really felt we had seen the cherry blossom at its best and it was a spectacular finale to the colourful show we had experience unfolding right across the country during our time here. Next stop...China!
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