Tsukigase Plum Grove in Nara

Mountain village slowly wakes to spring's embrace

Takako Sakamoto Mar 04, 2015 - 1 min read

<p>Open your eyes to find Shangri-La in pale pink!</p>

<p>Spring shower cascading over a mountain village!</p>

<p>Pale pink blossoms fluttering in a soft spring breeze</p>

<p>Fragrant arcade of plum blossoms!</p>

<p>Japanese andromeda tinged with red</p>

<p>Lamium flowers basking in soft sunshine</p>

<p>Elegantly shaped weeping red plum tree! It looks like a painting on some Japanese sliding doors.</p>

<p>Neat stack of firewood at the entrance of the plum tree tunnel!</p>

<p>Wind travels through the plum tree tunnel and the sweet flagrance of plum blossoms fills the air</p>

<p>Impressive pottery jar full of blossom placed at the gate of an old house!</p>

Around March 10th in 2012, I visited Tsukigase village, which is famous for its gorgeous plum grove. Tsukigase is located on the north side of Yamato Highland, which borders Kyoto, Nara and Mie Prefectures and spreads over the border of Nara and Iga basins.

When I entered the shadow of the mountains a cold wind froze me. I wondered what the temperature difference was between the shaded and sunlit areas. Tsukigase is on a highland, and it was hard to determine what kind of clothes would fit the climate. They say plum blossoms here bloom half a month later than plum trees in the center of Nara city. With luck, visitors can enjoy the fragrant plum blossoms here till the end of March.

Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...