'Hana-mi' which means 'flower-watching' is an interesting part of the cherry blossom festival. Japanese consider Hana- mi to be a refreshing sport. They just love to visit the Sakura or the cherry trees and picnic beneath the beautiful sweet-smelling, shady groves. The streets beside the Sakura parks and those lined by the Sakura trees have stalls that sell a wide variety of traditional foods like 'yaki-soba', 'tako-yaki' and so on.
Some of the popular Cherry Blossom Festivals in Japan are:
- Kumamoto Castle Cherry Blossom Festival - Kumamoto Castle located in the Honmaru Kumamoto city is a magnificent castle that was constructed around 400 years back. More than 800 sakura trees are found here. During the cherry blossom festival in spring, the illuminated castle at night, is truly an amazing sight.
- Okajo Koen Cherry Blossom Festival - This festival is held in Takeda city, the most famous location for the cherry blossom festival. The sakura trees found here are more than 2500 in number.
- Matsuyama Castle Cherry Blossom Festival - This castle situated on the hilltop, in Matsuyama city is adorned with almost 300 sakura trees and is lit up brightly during the cherry blossom festival.
- Seibu Koen Cherry Blossom Festival - Held in the Tokushima city which has sakura trees exceeding 500 in number.
- Takada Joshi Koen Cherry Blossom Festival - Takada Joshi Koen park is located in Higashi-takato Takato-machi Ina city. The festival is held between the beginning of April and the end of the month. The Sakura trees in this park are quite common and generally known by the name of Takato-Higanzakura. The park features more than 1500 sakura trees.
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