Plum Blossom in Japan

During my recent visit to Japan to see the winter festivals in the north of the country, our timing was perfect to discover plum trees blossoming further south around Tokyo just before we ended our trip. You may have seen my recent blog about the famous cherry blossom season in Japan, but the plum blossom can be just as attractive although there are definitely fewer plum trees.

Plum blossom heralds Springtime

Plum blossoms are considered to represent the first signs of spring, starting to appear in early February. They blossom earlier than the cherry trees and are popular to view, although not as much as the cheery blossom season. Nevertheless, they are indeed beautiful blossoms and again you can find them in a variety of shades of colours, usually white, pink and red.

Ume

Japanese plum is commonly referred to as ume. The blossoms are different to the cherry blossom in shape, although to the naked eye it might not be easy to see the difference unless you are an expert. Cherry blossom has a small split at the end of their petals, whereas plum blossom petals do not. Plum blossom usually has a more noticeably fragrant and sweeter, flowery smell. During our trip I definitely noticed this.

Where can I see plum blossom?

Plum blossom is often seen in temples, shrines and also public gardens, such as the Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens in Tokyo.

There are also many plum festivals (ume matsuri) when the blossom season occurs. 

Here are a few more photos of plum blossom from my trip, thank you for reading:

Bonsai plum trees!

Plum blossom and a waterfall

Plum blossom tree in gardens

...plum ice cream... this was really good!! (if you like plum flavours that is)