This time last year we were seeing the cherry blossoms for the last time at Nakijin Castle Ruins. What a bittersweet thought. Anyways, with everyone posting photos of this years blooms I thought it was the perfect time to edit and share these snapshots. If I’m honest last year was such a good one flower wise… it was actually the most bloomed I had ever seen the cherry trees in the six years we were there and I’m so glad we got to enjoy them.
The Nakijin Castle Ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site up north. The castle was built back in the 1200s and housed the northern king, before the island was unified into one kingdom, the Ryukyu Kingdom. Like most castle ruins it’s situated high on a mountain and has some amazing views of the ocean.
^^ another kind of sakura ice cream from the culture center ^^
^^ this tree unlike the others was so similar to the trees in mainland Japan, the dark pink ones are from Taiwan ^^
Nakijin Castle Ruins
Hours: Open daily 9AM – 5PM (extended hours in summer)
Admission: ¥400 castle + museum // ¥150 just castle
Another special thing about Nakijin Castle is that they do a nighttime illumination during their cherry blossom festival!
Website
We ended the day by having an Okinawan lunch at Churaumi Cafe and a walk along Bise Village.
^^ photos straight from the Instagram story archive because I forgot to save these! ^^
Interested in more flower photos? Check out Okinawa Blooms category, my Things To Do In Okinawa: Spring Edition post and the Cosmos and Cherry Blossoms in Nago post from a few weeks before these photos were taken. Mount Yaedake was equally as magical.