The Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival opened on April 23 at Hirosaki Park and was crowded with many cherry blossom viewing visitors.

Hirosaki Park is known all over Japan as a famous place for cherry blossoms. This year's cherry blossoms bloom eight days earlier than usual, and the Yoshino cherry tree in the park reached full bloom on April 21st. The Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival has a semi-festival period and will be held ahead of schedule from April 19th. A reception desk for temperature measurement, disinfection, and contact information has been set up at the entrance of the park to take measures against infectious diseases.

On the 23rd, when the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival opened, Yoshino cherry trees were in full bloom throughout Hirosaki Park. On this day, Yoshino cherry trees began to scatter due to strong winds, and in the outer moat, scattered petals floated on the surface of the water, creating a "flower raft," and snowstorms fluttered throughout the park.

The light-up from sunset was shortened to 20:30 as it was last year, but it was extended to 21:00 on weekends from 22nd to 24th. Nishibori is very popular as a photo spot because the cherry blossoms are lit up on the surface of the water, and many people shoot with their cameras or smartphones until just before the lit up.

A man in his 50s living in Sendai, who visited Hirosaki for the first time, said, "I visited twice during the day and at night, but at first I was surprised at how the cherry blossoms in the park bloomed. I lost my words because of the atmosphere. "

The Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival is open until May 5th.