Top 15 Most Beautiful Cherry Blossom Flowers

Written by Jyotsana Rao, BE Jyotsana Rao BE linkedin_icon Experience: 4 years
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Soft, pink blooms of cherry blossom hold a special place in the hearts of Japanese people. These beautiful, magnificent trees form an integral part of their culture. Their beauty enthralls not just the Japanese but people all over the world.

There are more than 600 varieties of the cherry trees that grow abundantly. They all differ in their shapes of petals, their color and even blooming season. Do you love silk cherry blossom flowers as much as the Japanese? Then here’s a list of the top 15 Japanese cherry blossom flowers.

Top 15 Japanese Cherry Blossom Flowers

1. Somei Yoshino:

The Somei Yoshino tree is also known as Yoshino cherry. This has light colored pink flowers that blooms in early April. This Yoshino cherry flower is very famous in Japan. After planting the tree, it will keep you company and bloom till the age of 20-40. Hirosaki Park located in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture has one of a oldest Yoshino tree, which was planted in 1882. The cherry blossoming festival called “Hirosaki Sakura Matsuri” revolves around this very tree and kicks off during its blossoming period—mid April to May 5.

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2. Yamazakura:

Yamazakura
Image: Shutterstock

The Yamazakura is also known as Hill cherry. This has a very long life compared to other tress and grows really big with their trunk spread over 1 meter. They have whitish and baby pink colored flowers that bloom in the early period of April. Their leaf buds are reddish in color that starts to grow during the same time. The Yamazakura tree located in Kogonji Temple, Akiruno City of Tokyo, is the prefectural Natural Monument of Tokyo. This particular tree is said to be 400 years old.

3. Kawazuzakura:

Kawazuzakura
Image: Shutterstock

The flower of the Kawazu-zakura tree blooms in early spring. The flowers look awesome as they are really large and pink in color. The trees look enchanting when they are in full bloom. Kawazu-cho located in Izu Peninsula is the originating place of this Kawazuzakura tree. You can see the streets lined with Kawazuzakura trees with their flowers during the festival that is held every year from February to March known as “Kawazuzakura Matsuri”.

4. Shidarezakura:

Shidarezakura
Image: Shutterstock

The Shidarezakura is also known as Weeping cherry. The flowers of this tree bloom on its sagging branches. You can see them in late March till mid of April. Minobusan Kuonji Temple located in the Yamanasahi Prefecture, contains the biggest Shidarezakura tree that is 15 meter in height, 5 meter in girth and is 400 years old. In Miharu-machi located in Fukushima Prefecture, you can see cherry blossom waterfall that is specially elected as the national Natural Monument. This is the most popular cherry tree you get to see in Japan that is more than 1000 years old.

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5. Yaezakura:

Yaezakura

Each flower of this Yaezakura cherry tree is big with its layers of petals that look extremely beautiful. They bloom in the month of April. Nagatoro-machi, located in Saitama Prefecture, is popular for the cherry blooms and is one of Japan’s best 100 sites to visit for cherry blossoms. You can also try the Tourinuke-no-sakura Garden, where you can enjoy over 500 Yaezakura trees lined in an area of 4 kilometers.

6. Edo-Higanzakura:

Edo-Higanzakura
Image: Shutterstock

The Edo-higanzakura tree blooms in the month of late March. They have pale pink flowers and are small in size. These trees have a really long life and some can even grow into very huge trees. Usuzumi-zakura, located in Usuzumi Park, Gifu Prefecture, is among the 3 most beautiful cherry trees in Japan. This is said to be of more than 1500 years old. “Usuzumi-zakura” means “light gray cherry blossoms”, as the flowers change their color as they fall. Yamataka Jindai-zakura located at the Jissoji Temple, Yamanashi Prefectures, is another cherry tree not to be missed. This is said to be of more than 2000 years old and is Japan’s oldest known cherry tree. Its trunk is almost 12 meters wide—did you say humungous?

7. Shibazakura:

Shibazakura
Image: Shutterstock

Shibazakura is also known as Lawn cherry blossom. This actually does not belong to the cherry tree family. The Moss Pink tree is known as Shibazakura in Japan—since their blooms look just like cherry flowers. These are creepy plants that grow very low along the ground and can cover the whole ground with their light pink, dark pink, rose or white blooms. The blooming period of Shibazakura cherry tree is from the months of April to May.

8. Kanzakura:

Kanzakura
Image: By Arashiyama (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0],via Wikimedia Commons
Kanzakura starts to bloom in late February till the mid of March. This is the first cherry trees to start blooming but they are seen only in small numbers at selected city parks.

9. Kanhizakura:

Kanhizakura
Image: Shutterstock

Mid to late March you can see the magnificent Kanhizakura trees in full bloom. This cherry tree has dark pink blooms that are bell shaped. It is a native of Taiwan and Okinawa where they start blooming from the month of January and February.

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10. Ichiyo:

Ichiyo
Image: Shutterstock

Ichiyo cheery tree starts to bloom from the mid of April. The Ichiyo flowers have 20 light pink petals per bloom and the leaves are green in color. This is a late flowering cherry tree observed in the parks of Japan and even in gardens.

11. Ukon:

Ukon
Image: Shutterstock

Average blooming time of Ukon in Tokyo is from mid of April. The Ukon flowers have 10-20 petals per bloom and the leaves are coppery in color. Ukon trees blossoms are yellowish in color.

12. Kanzan:

Kanzan
Image: Shutterstock

Kanzan, found abundantly in Tokyo; blooms in late April. Each Kanzan flower has 30-50 pink petals and the leaves are coppery brown in color.

13. Fugenzo:

Fugenzo
Image: Shutterstock

Fugenzo Starts to bloom from mid to late April in Tokyo. The Fugenzo has 30-40 petals each blossom and is white to light pink in color. The fresh leaves of Fugenzo are coppery brown in color.

14. Shogetsu:

Shogetsu
Image: By Arashiyama (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL],via Wikimedia Commons
Average blooming time of Shogetsu in Tokyo is from mid to late April. They have large and white blossoms with 20-30 petals. Their fresh leaves have green color.

15. Kikuzakura:

Kikuzakura
Image: Shutterstock

This is also kown as Chrysanthemum Cherry and blooms in late April-early May. They have more than 100 petals per blossom!

No matter how many pictures or videos you see of the pink cherry blossom flowers, you’ll never truly understand their beauty until you see them in real life. Do visit the Cherry Blossom Festival to behold the beauty of these magnificent trees and blooms.

Hope you enjoyed this article. Do write to us in the comments section below.

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Jyotsana Rao
Jyotsana RaoBeauty & Lifestyle Writer
Jyotsana Rao is an engineering graduate from NIT, Nagpur, who discovered her love for writing during her undergraduate days. She is passionate about writing about everything related to beauty - makeup, fashion, hairstyles, skin care, or hair care and has 4 years of experience on writing in these genres.

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