Kohigan cherry blossom

With the warm weather continuing, the Okame cherry trees at Chotokuji are in full bloom. The kohigan cherry trees along Kamo River have blossomed next.
Kohigan cherry blooms about a week earlier than Someiyoshino, the most common cherry tree in Japan, and is so named because it blooms around the time of the Ohigan holiday. The Ohigan is a period in spring and autumn when people make offerings to their ancestors. As a uniquely Japanese Buddhist event, people visit graves, hold memorial services, clean Buddhist altars and make offerings.
The Kohigan cherry is most famous in Takato Joshi Park in the south of Nagano prefecture. The cherry blossoms against the backdrop of Senjōgadake in the Southern Alps are exceptional.