Kajo Park — Attraction in Yamagata

Kajo parkisiotated on 35.9 hectares in the cen ter of Yamagata city. The perk grounds were previously the site of Yamagata Castle. It is said that Shiba Kaneyori. who came to Ushu (which modern-day yamagata city was part of) as a feudal commissioner.built the castle in 1365.Theoriginal bastion was built by Mogami Yoshiaki(1546-1614). the 11th iord of the Mogami family.The castle was called Kasumigajo (MistyCastle). it got its name in the wake of the fierce Hasedo battle which was fought more than five kilometersaway. The castle could not be seen because of the mist which rose from one of the most advanced three-ring moat systems of the time. This mistsaved the castle from being conquered.The middle moat and stone walls which remain were rebuilt in 1622 by Torii Tadamasa. lord of the castle at thattime.Yamagata Castle was designated as a national historic site in 1986. in 2006. The castle was acknowledged by the japan Castle Foundation to be oneof the top 100 castles in japan. Kajo park is now a famous tourist site. Cherry blossom viewing in spspringtime is especially...

Every nearby museums and stores were close during new year (of course), but this castle gate still opened to let people walk through inside park with man-on-the-horse statue. Even there was no any other beautiful castle of building (except the old nearby tower-like museum, but it was close also), the view of completely white snow field with many dry big sakura tree was so serene and relax for me, especially the old black white stray cat of the park who liked to sunbath and dressing itself on the park bench, and very friendly to people. She let me played with her all the time, even I left, she still followed (and when other people came, she followed and requested them to cuddle...

These pictures were taken at #KajoPark #YamagataCastleRuins last Sunday, April 14, 2024 from before sunset to twilight time. All the sides of the castle walls were lined with sakura in full bloom. The tree branches formed a sakura tunnel and extended down to the moat creating an absolutely amazing sakura curtain. It wasn’t too crowded in the late afternoon and it was possible to take lots of pictures without that many people in the frame. I was able to enjoy the sakura in both the sunset and the stunning blue of the sky during twilight as backdrops. Everybody kept raving “Kirei sugiru!” or “Mecha kucha kirei!” It was definitely one of the best hanami...