In Japan,

the cherry blossom time is here, 

all photographs japan-guide.com Yoshino seen from the Hanayagura viewpoint, Mount Yoshino (吉野山, Yoshinoyama) in Nara Prefecture has been Japan's most famous cherry blossom spot for many centuries,

cherry trees line the road through the town in the Shimo Senbon area before the arrival of the daytime crowds, it is said that the first trees were planted along its slopes more than 1300 years ago, and today the mountain is covered by approximately 30,000 cherry trees of many different varieties, especially of the Yamazakura variety,

the view from Yoshimizu Shrine, he Naka Senbon (middle) area covers the rest of the town along the ridge of the mountain. This is where the majority of Yoshino's accommodations, shops, restaurants, temples and shrines are found, including Kinpusenji Temple and Yoshimizu Shrine,

as you might expect the entire area is popular as a area to picnic,

and for walks, how to get there from Tokyo, take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto Station (2 hr 15 min), change to a Kintetsu Railway express train or limited express train headed for Kashiharajingu-mae Station, and then transfer at Kashiharajingu-mae Station to a Kintetsu limited express train headed for Yoshino Station (2 hr). The eastern Kii Peninsula is most quickly accessed from Tokyo by changing trains at Nagoya Station. Take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Nagoya Station (1 hr 40 min), transfer to the JR Nanki limited express to the Kii Peninsula, and alight at the station closest to your destination (3 hr). For the western Kii Peninsula, it’s fastest to take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka Station (2 hr 30 min), transfer to a JR limited express train heading to the Kii Peninsula and get off at the station closest to your destination (2-4 hr). Once you’ve arrived at the train station, take a bus from either Nara Kotsu, Meiko Bus, Ryujin Bus, or Kumano Gobo Nankai Bus, for travel details look here, and for more about the park have a look here, would I like to go? you bet!