Cherry blossoms in Kyoto ! The cherry blossoms in Kiyamachi and Gion were in full bloom!

As it’s gradually getting warmer in Kyoto, the cherry blossoms are blooming, and Kyoto is becoming a completely pink window into the heart of Japan. On my way from Kiyamachi and Takasegawa to Gion, I think I already took hundreds of cherry blossom pictures! 

The way the cherry blossoms in Kiyamachi were in full bloom was truly a sight to behold! And getting to eat something while you sit on the terrace seats and gaze at the cherry blossoms is something else!

The pink cherry blossoms and green willows made Vanessa’s heart flutter with their beauty! 

Kiyamachi is an area where you can find all kinds of things to eat, and at night there is a bar or an izakaya to every taste. Because the river in the middle is lined with cherry trees on both sides, this is a great place to have some refreshments while you enjoy the cherry blossoms. 

As it was getting close to lunchtime, we decided to have lunch at a restaurant where you could see the cherry blossoms. This is why we chose the Italian restaurant Amore Kiyamachi.

This restaurant, Amore Kiyamachi, looks very European, and its looks were enough to make me stop in my tracks. And you also can see the cherry blossoms of the Kamo River from it, so that’s it! Time for lunch! 

Through the windows, you get to see the beautiful Kamo River and the cherry blossoms by it. 100 points for the mood from me! Almost all the seats were taken, but luckily we could get a table. As the fragrance of freshly baked pizza hit my nostrils, I was already feeling like I could die of hunger any minute. 

They have three different course menu options for lunch, and you can choose your main to be pizza, pasta, or a meat dish. The perfect starter was this cold platter of Italian appetizers! 

This pizza is topped with sakura shrimp and has a very spring-like feel to it! And here they don’t use dried shrimp, but fresh, juicy sakura shrimp! There is a little bit of a burnt taste to the pizza, which brings out the flavors in the ingredients, and the texture is just the way I like it! 

Although I already ate appetizers, pizza, and pasta, I still couldn’t resist the dessert. Strawberry gelato, a piece of brownie, and some cake, what more could you want?

After eating lunch, it was time to walk a bit by the beautiful Kamo River. Thanks to the strict regulations on building heights in Kyoto, it’s easy to enjoy the vast blue skies of this old capital city! 

The fascinatingly beautiful cherry blossoms look beautiful no matter whether you look at them from close or far, and they’re also the reason why so many people come to Kyoto in spring. 

Once you get to Shirakawa in Gion, the scenery turns from lovely to breathtaking! Oh my, this is really too beautiful! All too beautiful! Walking under the mesmerizingly wondrous cherry blossoms makes one feel happy to the bottom of one’s heart. 

You can see many little Kyoto-like points by the river, and enjoy the Kyoto-like atmosphere together with the cherry blossoms. You can see many people having their wedding dress photos taken here too. If you’re thinking of renting a kimono, this might be a really nice place to take some pictures! 

And there are traditional machiya-style town houses too, so the atmosphere gets even better. The cherry blossoms here used to be also illuminated at night, but unfortunately, there were so many people that the local organizers couldn’t cope with the crowds, so the illumination event is currently not being held. Although you cannot see the blossoms at night, they’re just as beautiful during the day too!

I’m a cherry blossom fan par none other, so I had to keep going to Maruyama Park. Many people were enjoying their hanami-picnics here, and there were also many vendors selling snacks and beer. 

Maruyama Park is famous for its one hundred-year-old weeping cherry tree, and luckily the weather was nice and we got some very nice pictures of it. At night you can see the cherry blossoms illuminated, and the whole park feels very different and very mysterious. 

These seats here are only for those who buy food and drinks at the food stalls surrounding them. The food stalls are open late, and at night this part of the park is really lively! 

I took over 20,000 steps on my cherry blossom walk! But because the cherry blossoms were so pretty, I didn’t feel that tired. After this year, I again have to wait until next year to see the blossoms again. If I’m feeling this active next year, I want to go something a bit farther away! Until next year!