For all we know sakura blooms in spring. Not the one inside Asakusa temple though. We were a little bit shocked looking at sakura blooms too soon…, so were the passerby wondering if the sakura was for real. It brought joy though for all of us seeing this sakura in winter.
There are many types of sakura that can be differentiated by colour and shape. I still cannot tell the different except from the colour. So, I would call this sakura winter sakura.
It takes cold temperature for sakura to grow and warm weather to flower. That is why sakura opens up at the beginning of spring. If you ask me when sakura will open up I will answer “usually early spring” or give you a safe answer like “I don’t know”. Last year, sakura started opening up end of march at it most beautiful state for only a week in Tokyo. It did not survive until second week of April. Few years ago people would tell you sakura opened up mid of April but that is no longer the case, at least for last year.
Before sakura starts flowering, Japanese plum or known as Ume opens up earlier. Ume symbolises early spring in Japan. It starts opening up early March or even earlier. “Ume Matsuri” as Japanese call it, is a period when ume flowering. Ume generally white to dark pink in colour.
Ume flower now in deep sleep until warm of the spring awakening them from slumber…wake up to gorgeous pink flower.
Ume getting ready for spring
It will be flowerful spring 2015.
