There are many kinds of cherry blossom. Yae-Zakura is a double-layer type of sakura which is famous for its beauty and strength. The normal type of one-layer sakura tends to be fragile and easily be blown away by strong wind or rain. I believe that a lot of us have never heard or seen this type of sakura before.
In April of 2013, I visited Osaka castle wanting to see some sakura but sadly the storm had blown all the blossoms away. However, I did found this one tree of Yae-Zakura that was still full of blossoms. This type of sakura is just truly beautiful! Definitely worthwhile to see.
I have read somewhere before that it used to be found only in Nara prefecture and mostly up on Yoshino (吉野) mountain where you can go up by rope way to view the whole mountain full of beautiful cherry blossoms. But these days, it seems to be found everywhere. Yae-zakura blooms a bit later than the normal sakura. The hanami may have been over but Yae-zakura is still here!
Where to see:
Gotokuji-Tokyo. This temple located near Gotokuji station has a few trees that are just starting to bloom. Enjoy the legendary luck-bringing cat statues as well as the yaezakura.
Japan Mint – Osaka Head Office. This organization is an Incorporated Administrative Agency where coins, medals, metallic art objects and others are produced. You can visit the factory and see the facilities and how the objects are produced. This sounds a bit strange as a place to display Yae-zakura but the special thing about this place is not the metallic objects they produce but the fact that it has so many Yae-Zakura trees inside the place.
Every night, the lanterns are also turned on so you can enjoy beautiful night views of sakura. Hopefully, I’ll get to visit again when the event starts!
In Hiroshima Prefecture, you can see Yaezakura from the 13th to the 19th, also at the Hiroshima Minting facilities. What is the hidden link between minting coins and yaezakura?
Maybe the idea is simply that beauty is priceless?
Originally published below and modified with permission of @luvniku
https://luvniku.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/yaezakura-八重桜-double-cherry-blossom-in-osaka/