Wakayama

In early spring 2009, I travelled south from Osaka into Wakayama Prefecture to visit Kimiidera, a temple long associated with the arrival of Japan’s cherry blossom season.

Kimiidera is considered one of the earliest major blossom locations in the Kansai region, with flowering often beginning well before Kyoto and Nara reach full bloom. The temple sits on a hillside overlooking Wakayama city, its wooden halls and tiled rooftops emerging through layers of pale sakura.

Later in the day, the trip continued further south toward Shirahama, where the coastline changes completely — steep Pacific cliffs, dark volcanic rock, and open sea replacing the quiet temple gardens inland.

Kimii-dera

Temple tiles and carved guardians An onigawara is a traditional Japanese roof ornament featuring an ogre-like face, placed along temple roof ridges as a symbolic guardian against bad fortune.

Ema for good fortune Wooden prayer plaques, or ema, are commonly found at Japanese temples and shrines, where visitors leave wishes for health, success, and safe journeys.

Early blossom Cherry blossom arriving ahead of the main Kansai season. Wakayama’s milder coastal climate allows places like Kimiidera to flower earlier than Kyoto or Nara.

Hoju roof A sacred flame flickers against a sea of soft petals. Traditional spirits meeting the quiet beauty of the sakura season.

stone maker among the blossoms Small stone monuments and markers are scattered throughout Kimiidera’s gardens, softened each spring beneath falling blossom.

Rail crossing near Kimiidera A quieter side of regional Japan — narrow streets, railway crossings, and everyday life unfolding beneath the temple slopes.

Temple entrance and blossom Visitors gathering beneath flowering cherry trees during the beginning of the spring blossom season in Wakayama.