Visiting the Mint’s cherry blossom walk before peak bloom drew attention to the descriptions attached to each tree, revealing the quiet magnitude of preserving 133 varieties.

2016-04-13

On April 8, the day the cherry blossom walk at the Japan Mint began, I learned about it on the news and went out with a friend.
Unfortunately, many of the trees were still before full bloom.
Perhaps because of that, my eyes were drawn more than ever to the explanatory notes attached to each tree.
Year after year, I had thought that what the Mint does is truly remarkable.
It now cultivates and preserves 133 varieties of cherry blossoms.
I realized the magnitude of this only days later, when I revisited the Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden after encountering the Somei-Yoshino there in perfect full bloom.
I noticed then that the area near the Kitayama entrance—where I had been many times—was also a preservation site for double-flowered cherry varieties.
My friend remarked that the Arakawa embankment came up repeatedly, something we had also seen at the Mint.
Because I remembered a program I had watched years ago on NHK, I replied that it was thanks to private citizens.
To confirm it once more, I searched again.