Many thanks for joining us on our tours at Asakusa in the morning and Ueno Park in the afternoon on March 26th. We welcomed totally 38guests from 9 countries, UK, Germany, Australia, Spain, Netherland, USA, China, Singapore and Brazil. It was a tremendous opportunity for us to meet wonderful guests from many countries and to share interesting conversations. The cherry blossom viewing season has just started. Both Asakusa and Ueno were so lively with full of people. We hope every guest had a great time in festive mood with us. As promised, group photos and snapshots are attached so that you can remember the fun we had during the tour.
Asakusa Tour
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Ueno Park
Group A
Group B
Group C
The history of cherry blossom viewing in Ueno Park dates back to the foundation of Kaneiji Temple. The founder planted mountain cherry blossoms brought from Yoshino, a famous cherry blossom spot in Kyoto, and made the temple a place for cherry blossom viewing for the common people of Edo. Since then, various types of cherry trees have been planted. Currently there are about 50 types of cherry blossoms in Ueno Park.
A new variety named after Ueno Park
The most famous variety is “Somei-Yoshino”, which was crossbred at the end of the Edo period. It was increased by grafting and spread throughout Japan after Meiji period. Now 80 percent of Japan’s cherry trees are Somei-Yoshino trees. Genome analysis proved that they are clones with the same genes. Somei-Yoshino is not only beautiful, but since it is a clone, it blooms all at once and scatters all at once. Such trait has been attracting Japanese, and it has been loved as a representative of cherry blossoms for long time.
In March-April, many varieties of cherry blossoms bloom one after another. Please enjoy various kinds of cherry blossoms during your visit in Japan.
Once again, thank you so much for joining us on our tour. We always make efforts to improve our tours and highly appreciate your feedback on our TripAdvisor/Facebook etc. Your comments motivate us to continue our volunteer activities. Please tell your family and friends about how you enjoyed our tour. Next time you’re in Tokyo, please join another one of our tours at East Gardens of the Imperial Palace and Meiji Shrine/Harajuku. We’d love to see you again.
(Posted by Naoko)