Shibazakura, Moss Phlox

You will see this pink or. White flower, a low ground cover, all over the Kanto region. Some gardens feature vast displays of the stuff. They’re pretty, and the flowers are very dense. In Japanese they are called shibazakura, something like cherry ground cover. The tiny flowers certainly look like little cherry blossoms, and they coincide with or just follow the trees. 

Take a moment to run your hands lightly over them. They feel velvety. 

In Kasukabe City’s main street, the shibazakura are tightly packed into the planters along the sides of the road. 

At the west exit of the train station, Kasukabe City’s famous fictional resident, Crayon Shinchan, appears in the shibazakura plantings.

I’m glad it’s his face and not his bottom. He’s famous for his cheekiness. And cheeks.