This photo was taken at Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto, Japan on March 15, 2018. Exact location on Google map.
I was staying in Seoul, South Korea at that time. I’ve decided to take a flight to Kyoto to see the Cherry Blossoms there.
Spring is a stunning season both in Korea and Japan. I was just blown away by the beauty of the cherry blossoms, seeing the trees getting filled with colorful bloom.
This becomes even more eye-catching in Japan when you see them alongside some beautiful Japanese girls wearing kimonos with colorful patterns.
There are varieties of cherry trees, some produce white, yellow and green blossoms while others produce more light and dark pink colors. The dark pink ones are my favorite. The pink flower varieties are called: Fugenzou, Kikuzakura, Kanhizajura, Ichiyou, and Kanzan.
I think the one in the picture is either the Kanzan or the Kikuzakura, but I am not sure.
That picture was taken using my iPhone 5S that served me well until I bought the OnePlus 6 which I use now. It captures high-quality photos during the day, but it’s terrible in low-light.
Still, it captured the beautiful Spring colors and you can feel the Spring atmosphere in the air through this photo.
Every time I watch this photo I want to go back to that place again. Keep in mind that Cherry Blossom time is very short, with its peek holding on about 2-3 weeks. I was in Seoul for 3 months, and in Kyoto for a whole week. furthermore, sometimes the weather isn’t great. It was raining for 3 days when I was there, but I was lucky to get some nice days.
This is why I recommend people to stay at least 2 weeks, whether it’s in Kyoto or Osaka so they can get a beautiful day and visit many places in Spring. It’s very easy to get from Osaka to Kyoto by train, with the fastest train arriving in Kyoto in 15 minutes. I think that the fastest train costs 1500 yen more or less (one-way) with others even less, like 600 yen or so.
The bottom line is that it’s not expensive for low-budget travelers to get to Kyoto even several times during their stay from Osaka. Of course, if you plan to visit just Kyoto, it’s better to take a place there, either Airbnb or a hotel.
There are many other places where you can enjoy cherry blossom in Kyoto, but this is a single image that I liked and I wanted to share with you, others will follow.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Thanks for reading.