This weekend is the last weekend in which we can see the cherry blossoms this year, so that was the main purpose of the trip.
There are some very nice temples and shrines around the city.
The temple below, Naritasan, is for people to go and get their new cars blessed.
This temple, Kiganji, is near the park (see below).
There is also the large park, with a nice size pond in which you can rent a paddle boat, there's a very long slide for the kids, and a great number of cherry trees around the park too. There's also a literature museum.
It was really crowded getting to the park. We went by car and trying to park in the actual parks car park itself is tricky this season with all the people desperate to see the blossoms. The park itself was really nice with the cherry blossoms. Loads of people were not looking at the flowers though, but playing Pokémon on their phones....
If you are thinking about going to this park, the best time is when the wisteria is in bloom. There is a wisteria festival and its even more crowded, but really nice nevertheless. This festival starts next weekend, so if you're in the neighbourhood you should definitely check it out. There are so many people going to the festival that they open up other car parks nearby, maybe a ten minute walk from the park, you can also get there by train and bus.
They will have food stalls, ice cream, drinks, there is a little stage with some performances and of course the boats in the pond and the wisteria. I highly recommend this festival.
