Exploring Yamanakadani Taking a slow walk among the cherry blossoms along the river

I started walking near Yamanakadani Station, and the cherry blossoms were right there. It was a morning in early April, and I headed toward the river with my black jacket open. I knew the flowers would be in bloom—that was why I'd come—but the branches stretching out from both banks still made me slow down without even realizing it. I was almost content before I'd reached my destination.

I rested one hand lightly on the black railing along the river and looked up. With my black jacket open over a lavender top, I used my other hand to hold down its loose edge. Blossoms were right beside me and across the river, and I couldn’t decide which branches to look at first. I could hear the water flowing and finally looked down at the river below my feet.

I'd been watching the blossoms so intently that I nearly forgot the river was right there, flowing beside me. Light shimmered on the surface, and through the branches I could see the railing on the far bank stretching into the distance. Looking from the nearby branches to the ones farther away, I could see that the flowers I'd thought were one cluster were actually spread out at different distances. Walking among the cherry trees gave me so much more to notice than the rows I'd seen in photos.

They say there are around 1,000 Somei Yoshino cherry trees along the Yamanaka River. Rather than try to imagine that number, I wanted to walk a little farther and see how the branches I'd just looked at overlapped. Just a few steps changed where I could see the water between the branches. Every time I stopped, a new view became my favorite, and I thought I could happily spend a long time here just wandering.

Yamanakadani also has the charming streets of the Kishu Kaido and the weeping cherry tree at Jifukuji Temple. After enjoying the blossoms along the river, I wanted to explore the town, too. Rather than try to fit everything into one photo, I wanted to take it all in on foot, one place at a time. I saved just one photo of the riverside blossoms on my phone, looked up, and thought about which way to walk next.

A treat I was curious to try after getting home was “Naniwa Kuro-ushi,” a local Hannan specialty. It’s Japanese Black Wagyu raised on farms at the foot of the Izumi Mountains, and the Hannan City Tourism Association lists a place to buy it near Ozaki Station. After my spring walk, I’d love to bring home a taste of the area. I came for the cherry blossoms, and now I have dinner to look forward to, too.