Some types bear fruit, while others don’t. Japan in particular is home to hundreds of types of cherry tree-possibly more than 600, by liberal estimates. Jacky Parker Photography/Moment/Getty Images There are hundreds of cherry tree varieties.Ī beautiful Kanzan cherry blossom. played it cool, with one spokesperson for the National Park Service stating, “I’m sure they have much more than we have here, but we’re still proud of our celebration.” 3. “to dramatize the rivalry,” according to an article published at the time in The Record. In 1987, representatives of the Macon festival sent army helmets to TV stations in D.C. Those who organize the two cities’ respective cherry blossom festivals have engaged in some playful competition over the years. It’s home to 350,000 Yoshino cherry trees, while Washington, D.C., has fewer than 4000 trees. The cherry blossom capital of the world is in Georgia.īelieve it or not, the city of Macon in central Georgia is recognized as the “Cherry Blossom Capital of the World”-at least according to U.S. The flowers can also be viewed in many European and Asian countries, as well as Brazil and Australia in the Southern Hemisphere. Louis, Seattle, San Francisco, and Boston are all beautiful in their own way. In the U.S., the cherry blossoms of Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, St. Tourists flock to the country each spring to try their hand at a centuries-old activity called hanami, or “flower viewing.” You don’t have to fly to Japan to see them, though.

SOPA Images/GettyImagesĬalled sakura in Japan, the cherry blossoms of Yoshino and Kyoto are world-famous. Visitors enjoy boating underneath sakura trees in Japan.

Cherry Blossoms by Nobuyoshi Hamada