“ Kema Sakuranomiya Park is a riverside park boasting water, greenery and cherry trees, which is built on the river terrace between Kema Araizeki (overflow weir) and Temmabashi Bridge. Incorporating classical buildings such as the Mint, Water Square and walking trails, the park is a good place for strolling and jogging. It is known as a cherry blossom-viewing spot for its magnificent 4,700 cherry trees. “
After my failed attempt to dine in the Sailor Moon Cafe in Nakatsu, i took a train down to Sakuranomiya Park. At that point my spirit was pretty down and my hunger was not making myself any better. But with time ticking by I decided not to waste any time lunching in a restaurant but instead aim to have a picnic in the company of the cherry blossom trees.
So onwards I go!
ADDRESS :〒530-0025 Area including 1-chome, Nakano-cho, Miyakojima-ku, Osaka City
TRANSPORTATION : Short walk from Temmabashi Sta. on the Subway Tanimachi Line or the Keihan Line, Osakajo-Kitazume Sta. on the JR Tozai Line, or Sakuranomiya Sta. on the Osaka Loop Line
I alighted at the small JR Sakuranomiya train station and pondered about how to go to the park. Unfortunately, the locality map was more confusing than anything. I eventually decided to try my luck by picking an exit and going that direction. I exited from East Exit 1.
Decided I must have some Takoyaki since Osaka is famous for them. Picked up 4 for the price of 240yen from this little store just across the station. I also took the chance to ask the staff for directions.
Exit from the East exit 1 of the train station and turn right then follow the path and walk straight down. At some point the path will curve slight but just continue straight on .
The photos above are from Google maps, the place with those trees in the middle is Kema Sakuranomiya Park.
When you reach the end of the path, you’ll find a small JR Sakuranomiya Train Station entrance on your right and a Lawson Convenience stall on your left.
I love the Lawson convenience store! This particular branch is pretty big and well stocked with food! They have an amazing selection of premade bentos with a variety of contents such as OmuRice, spaghetti, Chinese cuisines and even Curry rice! There is also the usual sandwiches , onigiris and sausages. The store really made me regret buying my Takoyakis ^^;
There are even Anime merchandises for sale in the shop xD Kancolle, Love Live and even Cardcaptor Sakura! i walked away with just a bottle of Pocari sweat and a grilled sausage though =\ .
The park was vast with not too many people. The people there were mostly locals even though I did spot a few tourist who with their loud unruly voices , were hard to miss -_- . There were BBQ pits and big gangs of people gathered together to have fun. The rousing smell of barbequed meat in a Park is something new xD
Still a little too early it seems.
The trees look a little bare on camera but they look much fuller in real life!
This stretch of cherry blossom trees that hangs over the river was so beautiful. I’m only sadden that my photography skills failed to capture it fully =(
I just need a 2d character to be drawn in and it’s a scene from an Anime! Or get 2 idol celebrities and it’d be a movie scene! Aren’t they gorgeous??!!
Imagine it was full bloom, what a marvellous sight it would be!
Plenty of dogs and dog owners in the park too xD
The endless stretch of Cherry Blossom trees. Such a big pity they are still not in full bloom but nevertheless, still so breath taking !
This small bridge had trees planted on both sides in such close proximity, I couldn’t stop myself from snapping more photos of this area! The place was so beautiful and romantic, I suddenly decided I should camwhore! After all, I might never get a chance to do this again!
First attempt was hilarious! Here’s me trying to get my DSLR’s remote control to work xD
My best attempt! Focus was spot on, the setting sun was casting a lovely glow onto my face and I look good ! Do you know how difficult it is to camwhore with a DSLR? LOL
A different angle!
Narcissi to the max hahaha
I found this photo pretty LOL. It looks as if even the camera knew the couple is going to get into the picture and left a space for them. Compositionally, everything looks right hahah!
So much narcissi I apologise!
The sun was starting to go down but check out the cherry blossom trees lining the sides of the bank here. I promise it looked a lot more amazing in real life!
Soon it was near dusk and the street lights started to lit up. Time for some Yozakura (night cherry blossoms)!
A bunch of friends having Hanami ( Cherry Blossom viewing ) under the trees!
Hanami (花見?, "flower viewing") is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers, flowers ("hana") in this case almost always referring to those of the cherry("sakura") or, less frequently, plum ("ume") trees.
source: Wikipedia
Sakura lined Pathway. Imagine walking home with the company of these, man, I’d stay out for as long as I can!
Even though it was not full bloom when I was there on the 29th March 2015, it was still an amazing sight to behold. The best part about going to Kema Sakuranomiya Park was the lack of massive tourists and how plentiful the Cherry Blossom trees were. They were everywhere, at every corner, lining almost every pathway. Walking through a path with stunning Cherry Blossoms trees on both side and seeing no end to this beautiful sight for the next 50 steps is an indescribable feeling.
Every step just takes my breath away as I wonder how such a small flower (Somei Yoshino) with 5 simple petals can come together to form such an amazing scenery. Cherry Blossom’s beauty is also treasured because of it’s transiency. With Somei Yoshino, it’s as fast as a matter of days before the pink clouds on the tree rains to the rhythm of the wind and turns into the pink carpet on the lake. At every stage of it’s life, the Cherry Blossoms just seem to take on another form of beauty.
Like they always say, it’s easy to never appreciate something until it’s gone. However with Sakuras, being in the midst of it alone makes me appreciate my everything as I thank God for the privilege to to witness this glory, only He can create. Being alive is a privilege isn’t it?
I spent the rest of my evening at Tsuruhashi, a place famous for it’s Korean BBQ.
I however, made do with just a simple bowl of Chashu ramen.
1 comment:
omg.... your pictures of kema sakuranomiya park is so beautiful
i would bookmark this page and view the photos over and over again.
kinda regret that i missed this place after going to osaka castle since it was near to osaka castle.
alex
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