Mint Museum, Kinki, Japan

5suathong 5:00 PM May 9, 2013

Wow! So many varieties of cherry blossoms
Osaka Mint Bureau is a very special place for cherry blossom viewing as its 'cherry blossom passage' is open to public for one week only every year. The viewing period is in mid-April, but the exact period is announced only in early or mid-March. This year the viewing period was 16-22 April, and we were there on the first day. As expected, there was a big crowd. Several teams from newspapers and television stations were there to report the event. The 560-meter long passage is surrounded by 350 trees of 130 varieties. We never realized that there are so many varieties of cherry blossoms. Most of the cherry blossoms in the Bureau are the late-blooming species which have various shapes, colors (mostly pink or red) and number of petals. The most abundant ordinary cherry blossom, Somei Yoshino, has five petals. However, it is very common for the late-blooming cherry blossoms to have 40-50 petals. Visitors enter the passage from the South Gate and exit through the North Gate (one-way traffic). The cherry blossoms are illuminated by spot-lights at night. So it is a good idea to come in the late afternoon. After going through the passage, one can rest, relax and have meals (there are many food stalls outside the Bureau) by the Okawa River bank, and then go through the passage again after the lights are on. If you happen to be in the Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe region during the cherry blossom viewing week, you should try to go there to enjoy the cherry blossoms. By the way, except for the cherry blossom viewing week, the Mint Museum is open to public from Monday to Friday.

5alvinclausen 5:00 PM Apr 4, 2018

Mint walk opened already!!
Despite every website saying the walk would only be open from the 11th to 17th April, my wife and I plus a lot of others enjoyed an amazing walk through the beautiful Sakura TODAY For what ever reason someone has decided to allow visitors early. Go and enjoy now