February is the month for the blooming of plum flowers in this part of Japan. Today I went to the nearby Atami Plum Garden for flower viewing. As advertised, there were countless types of plum, including both early and late blooming ones. The late-blooming ones hadn’t bloomed yet, but that couldn’t be helped as it was simply impossible to have both types of plums bloom at the same time.

The garden was very crowded, even on a weekday. Shows how much Japanese loved flower viewing. If you prefer a quiet place to appreciate flowers this wouldn’t be a good idea.

The greatest charm of this place would be the sheer number of plum trees here. At 472 trees and 59 types of plum, you would be hard-pressed to find another plum garden with more variety. This place was also well-known for having the earliest blooming plum blossoms in Japan.

From afar, the garden walkway looked like this. Wherever you go you would be surrounded by colourful plum blossoms.

This was a large garden with plenty of flowers and overall a great place for a stroll. During the plum blossoming period there are different performances at the main stage, to provide you additional entertainment. Check the program schedule at this page. http://www.ataminews.gr.jp/ume/

By Desheng.

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