Visit Kyushu
The Official Kyushu Travel Guide

One of the most authentically refined places to appreciate cherry blossoms is Sengan-en, an Edo-period Japanese garden in Kagoshima that preserves the traditional custom of Kyokusui-no-en (Winding Stream Party) on the first Sunday of April. At this elegant event, people dressed in traditional clothing read poetry and drink sake along the stream that runs through the Kyokusui garden. It’s a historically more cultured version of hanami, the popular spring pastime of picnicking under the sakura, which also dates back to the Heian period. Most of the cherry trees at Sengan-en are Kanhizakura, an early-blooming species with deep pink bell-shaped blossoms native to Okinawa. By April, you may also see the classic pale pink sakura contrasted against the dark tree bark of Somei Yoshino. All this with a dramatic backdrop of Sakurajima in the middle of Kagoshima Bay.

Further south along the peninsula in Ibusuki, the observation deck atop Mt. Uomidake is another great place to view a blanket of sakura in full bloom, as long as you catch its 600 cherry trees at just the right time. But Ibusuki is best known for its volcanic sunamushi sand baths, which you can experience all year round at any one of the many resorts in the nearby Ibusuki Onsen area. Once you change into a cotton yukata, attendants will help bury you up to your neck as you lie under the dark, warm sand. It’s a particularly relaxing way to wind down after a day of cherry blossom-viewing, as you watch dusk fall over the bay to the east. When you’re ready for your next move, you can shower off and soak in the hot spring baths next door. Don’t forget to snack on a naturally steamed onsen egg on your way out, then enjoy a leisurely dinner and a good night’s sleep.