Today, I went to Kawagoe City, Saitama to check the cherry blossom blooming situation for a guest I will be introducing next week. Kawagoe is located about 50 km north of Tokyo and is a popular tourist spot that retains the atmosphere of the Edo, Meiji and Taisho periods (pre-modern times to early modern).

My friend kindly accompanied me and we walked around the town of shop of warehouses style and the popular Hikawa Shrine, and checked the cherry blossom blooming situation on the banks of the Shingashi River.

The early-blooming Okanzakura cherry on the river were at their best, but it seemed unclear whether the main variety Somei Yoshino cherry, would be in full bloom next week.