Kamimachi Station is a station of Tokyu-Setagaya line. The line is an old-fashioned train line that brings nostalgic feeling. The Tokyo-Setagaya line goes to Setagaya Ward and it is a peaceful residential area despite being close to the center of Tokyo.
There are many nice spots around the station and on the west side of the station, there is a historical site called "Setagaya Daikan Yashiki" which means "Residence of Setagaya local governor in Samurai era". The thatched house shows the original style of upper townspeople's house of that time and now it is registered as an important cultural asset by the government.
After a little walk from the Setagaya Daikan Yashiki, there is an old temple surrounded by plants such as bamboos and camellia, named Jissou-In, which was established in 1588 and is now chosen as one of the 100 best viewing spots in Setagaya Ward. The inside of the temple ground is covered with beautiful moss.
Several minutes from Jussou-In, there is a park called "Baji-Kouen (Horseback Riding Park)" which is managed by Japan Racing Association of horse racings. The place was actually used for equestrian events of Tokyo Olympics in 1964.
The police box beside Baji-Kouen has a unique design. As you can see in the photos, the entrance is hemmed by a big horseshoe because of its proximity to the horse riding park. The park has many Japanese plum trees (Ume) and many people visit here to enjoy the flowers in this season.
It was a question I was asked by my American friend when I guided her in spring and I thought it was an interesting question that shows a cultural difference.
Yes, actually most Japanese people can tell which flowers are cherry blossoms and which are not immediately although there are several similar flowers, like plum flowers and peach flowers, blooming in the almost same season.
For one thing, it is because cherry blossoms are the most popular flower among Japanese people and every spring people have gone out for “cherry-blossoms-viewing” since their childhood, so people have enough experience to learn about the appearance.
But actually we can tell not only cherry blossoms. When Japanese people go out for a flower-viewing picnic/excursion we usually aim for one particular kind of flower. It can be any kinds of flower, but we wouldn’t aim for unspecified seasonal flowers. With this cultural background, most Japanese people can identify famous seasonal flowers. I guess many examples of traditional art, drawings and designs also help people to recognize each kind of flower.
For example, there have been many traditional family crest designs based on cherry blossoms and plum flowers. I'll show some of them here. The left row is cherry blossom designs, and the right row is plum flower designs. I think it shows very well how Japanese people recognize which one is which between the two kinds. They can’t be completely accurate standards since there are so many varieties of both kinds, but it still can help tell the typical difference between those.
Now, can you tell which one is cherry blossom in the left above picture? I hope you can tell!
