---
title: Ryukyu kanhizakura cherry
url: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/notes/ryukyu-kanhizakura-cherry/
lang: en
journey: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/episodes/okinawa-sakura/
---

# Ryukyu kanhizakura cherry

A little of each town’s story　/　Motobu, Okinawa

In Okinawa, cherry blossom means kanhizakura, whose deep pink flowers hang downward like little bells. The Okinawa Meteorological Observatory usually announces the first blooms around January 18, based on a sample tree in Sueyoshi Park, Naha. Unlike the cherry front on the mainland, the blossoms in Okinawa move from the north of the main island southward, so late January on Mt. Yaedake is the earliest peak of all.

## This moment in the journey: Japan's earliest cherry blossom festival

At Mt. Yaedake, deep pink blossoms covered the branches: Ryukyu kanhizakura. At the entrance stood a photo cut-out board for the 45th Motobu Yaedake Cherry Blossom Festival, with a note saying the trees were at 80 percent bloom today. Paper lanterns were strung across the road and sakura banners fluttered in the wind.

I walked under the cherry trees. The stalls sold shaved ice and cotton candy, goat soup, and taiyaki. It felt less like a flower festival than a fairground.

A pink sign by the road read: when the Yaedake petals dance, chimu-dondon. In the Okinawan language, chimu-dondon means a pounding heart. Up the mountain road, the sea appeared beyond the blossoms. Haru deemun: because it's spring.

![Deep pink kanhizakura covering the branches](https://karigurashijourney.com/img/okinawa-sakura/s38-1200.jpg)
- Sources: https://tabi-mag.jp/okinawa-kanhizakura/

Read this scene in the full journey: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/episodes/okinawa-sakura/