Japan is famous for its ubiquitous temples, rich culture and traditions that people from all over the world flock to see. The most popular time to visit Japan is spring, specifically March and April, when ornamental cherry blossoms — sakura trees — all over the country. These are viewed as the national tree and one of the monuments of the Land of the Rising Sun. In the guides you will find routes following the footsteps of the blossoming cherry trees, in honor of which the tradition of Hanami, or the festival of flower observation, was established.
You can admire sakura at temples, parks and Zen gardens, or from a boat on the river. One of the most famous areas in this regard is the Kansai region, where the Kii Mountains covers 3,000 pink-flowered sakura. Pink flowers are an attraction not only for tourists, but also for local residents, who have certain traditions and superstitions associated with them.
TIP: You can also visit the cherry blossoms to Washington, where a festival is also being held in their honor, at the turn of March and April.
When: from March to May.
In Japan we will stay for a while longer and move north from the capital Tokyo, to Ashikaga Park, where it grows a 150-year-old wisteria tree that sprawls over some 80 square meters and displays over 80,000 purple flowers at once. In addition, there are over 350 other, equally impressive purple wisteria trees in the park. Abundant flowers resemble purple rain, transforming the scenery into a picture like from a cartoon fairy tale. Take a walk through a 100-meter tunnel of wisteria in Kawachi Fuji Gardens-en and indulge in an unrepeatable experience under the guise of a unique natural phenomenon.
And if purple isn't one of your favorite colors, across Japan you'll also find pink, blue, white or yellow ashikaga, as the locals call wisteria.
When: from mid-April to early May.
In our country, we are used to poppy fields drenched in red, across the ocean, in the US state of California, September poppies yellow, up to golden in color. Poppies are native to California and are among the native flowers of the area. Reportedly, at the time the Spanish settlers came to California, they named the area “Landscape of Fire” — precisely after the vast yellow-orange areas formed by the poppies. Today is yellow Poppy is the official flower of California and has its own holiday, which falls on April 6.
For the most intense experience and views of the endless plains of yellow poppies, visit the Antelope Valley Reservation: Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. But since poppies are sensitive to the sun and will close in on any sign of bad weather, we recommend that you first check both the weather forecast in California and the situation on the reservation. On its website you will also find a phone number on which they will tell you the current situation regarding the flowering of poppies.
When: from March to April.
Even in our homeland, nature makes itself and portrays beautiful scenery from flowering plants. The symbol of the Czech Republic is the linden tree, but other plants have also influenced the course of our country. One of them is hops. Did you know that Žatec with the surrounding hop-growing landscape It is also a UNESCO monuments? The entry on its list, which took place in 2023, only confirmed how vital the production of hops is for our country. It is from Žatec that ¾ of the total volume of Czech hops comes. Of course, we do not sing it for the colorful flowers, but above all because of the bitter taste it gives to beer. Whether you want to peek under the lid of the hop processing or wander through the vast hop fields, head to Žatec, near Stekník Castle you will find your way.
Dive into the world of hops, get to know its varieties, processing procedure and other uses. In the production of beer, only 3 grams of hops are used per half liter of golden liquor.
When: at the end of summer, when it lives on the hop fields during harvest.
