Miharu Takizakura

The Takizakura is a single Prunus itosakura, a weeping cherry, estimated at over a thousand years old, standing alone in a field outside the town of Miharu. It is about thirteen metres high and spreads roughly twenty-five metres, and the name means waterfall cherry - the branches hang so far and so densely that in flower the tree reads as falling pink water. It was designated a national natural monument in 1922, one of the first trees to be so protected, and is counted among the three great cherry trees of Japan. Age has cost it: major limbs have been lost to snow and storms, and the remaining structure is held up on a scaffolding of props that is visible and not disguised. Flowering is usually in the middle of April and lasts about a week, and in that week the field is managed with shuttle buses and one-way paths because of the numbers.

What you actually see

• One tree - a weeping cherry over a thousand years old, standing alone in a field.
• The waterfall form - branches hanging far enough that the bloom reads as falling water.
• The props - a visible scaffolding holding up limbs weakened by age and storms.
• A one-week bloom - usually the middle of April, and heavily managed.

When to go

Mid-April, checking the bloom forecast. Two hours. Early morning or after dark for the lighting.

Honest expectations

The bloom lasts about a week and the timing shifts by year - arriving wrong means an ordinary bare tree. Crowds in that week are severe and parking is charged and distant. The props are prominent in every photograph. Outside the season there is nothing else at the site.

Nearby

Koriyama is west; Aizu-Wakamatsu is beyond it.