Tomei Park

Japan’s Northernmost Grove of Somei-Yoshino Cherry Trees, Blooming in All Their Glory, Announce the Coming of Spring

In Bibai’s Tomei Park, home of Japan’s northernmost grove of Somei-Yoshino cherries, everyone is greeted by some two thousand cherry trees of many varieties: the popular Somei-Yoshino (Prunus yedoensis), Ezo Yama Zakura (Prunus sargentii), Chishima Zakura (Cerasus nipponica var. kurilensis), Yae Zakura (a double-flowering cherry), and others. These bloom at differing times in the park, making it just the spot to enjoy the blossoms at your leisure.
And there are rare varieties, too, such as one in which a single red streak runs through the petals, making this a place to savor the full spectrum of cherry colors and fragrances.

Once the cherry petals have fallen, we can enjoy azaleas of abundant hues, and in fall, all the seasonal colors.

In spring, about twenty thousand cherries and five thousand azaleas burst into bloom. And in summer, the pond’s lotuses offer their sweet flowers, while in fall this is just the place to watch the turning leaves. This is where visitors can enjoy the different faces of all the seasons.

This very Tomei Park was opened as a place of rest and relaxation in September, 1963. Five years later, two hundred cherry trees were planted expressly to make this a prime place for blossom viewing. And later, many groups planted other cherries, azaleas, maple trees, and more, each adding their beautiful colors in profusion.
These Somei-Yoshino cherries are at the northern limits of their growing environment, thriving in a way that makes them all the more attractive.
The hill in Tomei Park has been made famous for its cherries by a TV appearance of Moriyama Naotaro. He sang “Sakura” (“Cherry Blossom”) with Tomei cherries in full bloom broadcast at the end of the song. Visitors from all over throng to see these in season.

INFORMATION

Tomei Park
住所 City of Bibai, Tomei 2
URL http://www.city.bibai.hokkaido.jp/photoex05.html