A new sakura each year - mixing up the hanami experience

Since I have become more accustomed to the various types of cherry blossoms, I set myself a mission to see a "new-to-me" cherry blossom variety each year. And with dozens of cherry blossom varieties to choose from, this exercise will give me a fresh hanami experience for years and years!

How many cherry blossom varieties are there?

I have never been able to find a definitive source of exactly how many cherry blossom varieties there are. Conservative guesses online in the English language go with "more than a 100", but in Japanese you will find that they put that number upward of 200. I would well believe that there are more than 200 varieties, I wouldn't be surprised to hear its officially 400 or more! If anyone does have a reliable source that reveals the exact number of cherry blossom varieties, please do share.

A new variety each year

I started seeking out a new variety of cherry blossom to view each year about ten years ago, just for the fun of it. Initially I went with basic varieties, but I decided to up my game during the pandemic. In 2020, the target was the kanhizakura. In 2021, the Kikushidare. This year, 2022, my favorite to date: the Sunlight Sakura. 

Sunlight Sakura

Sunlight Sakura has been my favorite to date, not because of the appearance, but because of the name and the history. Just how magical does "sunlight sakura" sound? Officially though I shouldn't mix the languages though. In English it should be called the Sunlight Cherry Blossom and in Japanese Yoko Sakura 陽光桜. But the alliteration of "Sunlight Sakura" is hard to resist!

The history is moving. You can find quite a bit online about the history as the history of the Sunlight Cherry Blossom was made into a movie "Yoko the Cherry Blossom". A quick summary; Masaaki Takaoka created these cherry blossoms by cross breeding the aforementioned kanhizakura and the Amagi Yoshino Cherry Blossom. They were formed to pay tribute to his whole class of students who were drafted to fight in World War II and never came back. A heartbreaking, poignant story with a touching reminder for peace. 

Sunlight Cherry Blossoms / Yoko Sakura look quite like the early blooming Kawazuzakura at first glance. They are a similar deep pink and shape, but the size is the giveaway. The flower of the Sunlight Cherry Blossom is larger than that of the Kawazuzakura. 

Although this variety of sakura has been sent all over the world, it was actually quite hard to find a location to see a larger display of this cherry blossom. I found locations with a couple of the trees, but had failed to reveal a location with an avenue or line of the trees online. I had decided to visit a location with just two trees, when serendipity intervened.

I was coming off a highway in Honjo when an avenue of Sunlight Sakura accosted me from afar. I was so excited. They did look like kawazuzakura from a distance, but I knew they couldn't possibly be kawazuzakura as it was past their season. Sunlight Sakura bloom in around the period of Somei Yoshino which is after the Kawazuzakura have finished. I quickly headed in the direction of the cherry blossoms for a closer inspection.

I was pretty sure they were Yoko Sakura, but there was no information at the site. Furthermore, searching online initially didn't turn any information up. But eventually after rigorous online searching and tweaking of search terms, I turned up some information that confirmed these beautiful avenue of cherry blossoms is indeed of the Sunlight variety. Another variety of cherry blossom crossed off my list! Next year it is the equally elusive Green Cherry Blossoms! Any rare variety you would add to my list!?