1,000 Cherry Blossoms Festival – continued 2
After these stalls, you will see a turret and gate. These were just restored. The turret is from Edo Period which is the period between 1603 and 1868 in Japanese history. After the gate, you’ll see Sanada Jinja (shrine). It was dedicated to Sanada, Masayuki who was the 3rd son of Sanda Yukitaka (1512-1574) and like his father first served Takeda Shingen. Since it has been appeared in TV games and animations, it became a popular spot to visit.
1,000 Cherry Blossoms Festival – continued
Ueda castle was built 430 years ago. There is a dried out moat around a castle ruin park. Now, it is used as a walking path.
During the festival, numerous stalls were lined inside the park. They sell food, drink and local specialty products. So, I tried a kushiyaki (a grilled chicken on a skewer) with Shinsyu miso flavor. I was extremely excited by the lively atmosphere and good food.
Ueda 1,000 Cherry Blossoms Festival
I went to 1,000 cherry blossoms festival in Ueda, Nagano prefecture.
This year is 10th anniversary of the festival in Ueda castle ruin where you can view over 1,000 beautiful cherry blossoms.
It is one of the most famous place for cherry blossoms in Eastern Japan. Clearing up, the weather was the best day for viewing them. It was only in the morning, the parking lot was already full.
1,000 cherry blossoms festival has just started
“Senbon Sakura Matsuri” or “1,000 cherry blossoms festival” is just started today in my hometown Ueda, Nagano.
In my home town, the cherry blossoms have been blooming since April 1st this year. It is just in time to have 10th anniversary 1,000 cherry blossoms festival this weekend.
When you see this blog in Japan, you should definitely come over to Ueda and enjoy beautiful Sakura festival.
“Shinano ko ume” or small plums from Shinano (Nagano prefecture)
In my hometown, we do not have cherry blossoms yet, but we have plum blossoms now. Japanese people have a custom of viewing plum blossoms and cherry blossoms in spring. However, plums are used as food not much for viewing in my hometown.
This picture shows “Shinano ko ume” or small plums from Shinano (Nagano prefecture). Umeboshi is a traditional food consisting of preserved plums. But, plums from Shinano are too small to make Umeboshi. So, they are used mainly for making jams.
