The Kawazu cherry blossoms are out! Called kawazu zakura (河津桜) in Japanese, these are the earliest blooming cherry blossoms, coming at us around mid to late February through March depending on the location. Here in central Japan it is usually closer to mid-March when they appear, though I've seen them as early as February on warm years.

I went to go see them and took some photos. Let's go look!

I try to get a version of this shot every year. I just love the composition so I always return to it. It's as if the blossoms are gobbling up those stairs like The Blob or something. The cherry blossom Blob!

As you can see, they are quite a vibrant pink. This is in contrast to the pale white of the most popular variety of cherry blossoms, Yoshino Cherry (someiyoshino). It really can look very pretty when they are fully bloomed.

Though they aren't the most popular type, I think many cities have at least one patch of Kawazu cherry blossoms. It's often still just a bit too cold for flower viewing parties when they bloom, making it a little less busy to walk around them. But only a little. There are still plenty of people out.

There is a festival in the town Kawazu on the Izu Peninsula from 10 Feb to 10 March that attracts more than 1.5 million people every year. Clearly some people really enjoy this type! I've never been there, but it is on my list of places to go someday (my long long long list which basically includes everywhere in Japan).

In my last post about the ume blossoms and Mejiro I mentioned that those birds also come out for the Kawazu cherry blossoms. There were tons of bird photographers out here waiting for them, but I didn't see any Mejiro out when I was visiting. Oh well, maybe next time. But the blossoms are pretty beautiful just by themselves.

The Kawazu blossoms were discovered in the town in Izu that bears their name, hence why that is still the most popular place to see them and the location of the most famous festival. Local legend says they were discovered by a monk who found them growing in the nearby mountains. There is no record of what year this happened in so offically no one knows the origin. But botanists tell us they are probably a natural hybrid of Oshima zakura (大島桜) and Shidare zakura (枝垂れ桜).

Some people are really very serious about the blossoms, so I learn a little more about them every year just talking to folks. Maybe eventually I'll know enough to write my own book on them 😅

There is a high school across the river and they were playing baseball while I took these photos, so every few minutes I could hear the ding of an aluminum bat hitting a ball followed by cheering. I don't know if they were playing a game or just doing practice. It was an odd background sound to looking at beautiful flowers, but it worked in a strange way. Baseball is the game for spring and summer, after all.

I walked around for about an hour, taking photos here and there and just enjoying the atmosphere. It is really a lovely time. Everyone is happy so there is a jolly mood to the place.

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.