On Sunday, April 20, I joined a one-day bus tour to watch the cherry blossom at Takato Kohigan and Kouzen-ji Temple.
Although the destination of this tour is not within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu Area, I would like to share the information here to show the beautiful cherry flowers.

I get up at 5:30 a.m. and fix the outfit and leave my home with my families at 6:15. I bought bentos for breakfast at convenience store and arrived at Odawara Station at 6:50 a.m., the bus was already waiting for us.

Me and my family boarded on the bus and departed toward Hatano Station. It took 30 minutes to reach the Hatano Station where the bus picked up other tourists and toward to the Shinshu-suwa Area.

The first destination was Takato-jo Castle located at Ina-shi, Nagano. The cherry blossom here is called “the best cherry blossom of the whole world” and is one of the top three famous spot of cherry blossom of Japan.

Before reach the destinations, we have to buy some foods for eating inside the Takato-jo Castle. So the bus got off from Chuou Expressway at Lake Suwako of Nagano and toward to the drive-in area.

I am surprised when arrive at the drive-in area. There are so many tourist buses! I guest every bus is targeted for cherry blossom ！

This photo was taken from inside the bus while the bus was driving on the expressway.

The expressway runs through the countryside all the way.

Finally we are reaching Suwa IC. Get off the expressway here.

It livens up suddenly when entered Suwa City.

The parking lot for the Drive-in area where we buy our lunch boxes. There are many bus already parked in lines.

The shops of the Drive-in area. The area was filled with shoppers.

It was just so crowded! We borrowed the restroom and only took a break. here.

After the lunch boxes were brought into the bus, we continued our riding toward Takato Castle.

This photo showed a whole view of Suwa City was taken from the inside of the bus after we left the city. It is a little bit blurred due to it was taken from inside the bus.

The bus ran through the countryside for about one or one and a half hours.

Finally we arrived at Takato Castle. We found a parking area with no efforts.
But I was told if the parking area was crowded with buses, we may have to wait for some dozen minutes.

The cherry trees are so beautiful!

Many buses already parked in.

The walk through the castle start from here.

Me and my family, 4 people together walked for about one and a half hours.

Here are some introduction for Takato-Joshi-Kouen Park.

The Takato Castle stands at an extended part of the river terrace area sharpened by Mibugawa River and Fujisawagawa River.

The castle is also called Hirayama-jiro because the castle park looks like stood at a plain when observed from the river terrace, but it became a mountain castle rising 80 meters above the river bed when observed from the other three directions.

Takato was belonged to the influence area of Suwa clan in the past, the area was dominated by the Takato clan, one branch of the Suwa clan since the Nanboku-chō period.

However the area was invaded by Takeda Shingen during 1532 to 1555 due to this area was an important access point from Suwa to Ina, and it is a strategic point for acess from Minami-Shinano to Suruga.

After Shinge obtained the Takato area, he ordered a expansion and reconstruction of Takato Castle, and the Kuwatate Ceremony (the construction start ceremony) was held in the year of 1547.

It was said that Yamamoto Kansuke was the one who helped build the castle.

A large-scale repair took place during the Edo period and the original appearance of the castle’s reconstruction conducted by Shingen is unknown today. However through remains of the dried-out foss that separate each castle walls and the embankment inside the castle, we can figure out that the castle was for military purpose and was built on a ground well used the shape of the land.

Takato Castle was ruled by Takeda Shingen for 35 years, after that it was handed to Shingen’s relatives Suwa (Takeda) Katuyori and Nishina Morinobu considering its importance as a base of Minami-Shinshu.

It has became an especially famous tale of Nishina Morinobu’s braveness when fighting back the invasion to Inadani led by troops of Oda Nobunaga in the year of 1582, the Kohigan cherry trees planted inside the castle is said to obtain their crimson color from tinted by the blood of Morinobu.

In 1872, the building in the castle was handed over to non-government organizations by the new Meiji government of Japan, many cherry trees were transplanted from Sakura-no-baba by former feudal retainers, the remains of the caslte became a park in 1875.

Takato-Kaku, a registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan is located at near the north exit of the park which was built in 1936 by Shuho Ikegami, Denichiro Komatsu, Shouzaburo Hirose, Ichizo Yajima who was born at Takato.

There are also Taiko-yagura, foss, embankment and monument of the past remembering the old time.

After the cherry blossom season passed, tourists can enjoy beautiful scenery of each season such as fresh green of the early Summer and red leaves of Autumn.

Policy officers are on patrol due to the crowded people in the park.

After enjoying the beautiful scenes at Takato-Joshi-Kouen Park, the bus went toward the next destination, Kouzen-ji Temple.

There is a famous flower-viewing spot of Shidare cherry trees in the Kouzen-ji Temple. Shidare means the branches of the cherry tree are hang dwon toward the ground, it is a rarely seen species of cherry trees.

There are narcissus flowers bloomed along side the road in front of the gate of the temple.

The road is called Narcissus Road.

The approach to the main building. The cedar trees planted on the roadside brings mysterious aura to the temple.

The main building of the temple.

After enjoying the Shidare cherry blossom, we left for home, and arrived home at past 9:00 p.m.
The bus tour was so enjoyable and the cherry blossom was so beautiful, I wish I can visit here next year!

※ Please make sure the info you see is the latest in advance.