Visiting the Cherry Blossom Trees in D.C.

Every year, Washington, D.C. hosts the National Cherry Blossom Festival. These wonderful trees were gifted to America in 1912 from Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki. The festival hosts many different events to celebrate the blooming and both American and Japanese cultures. Millions of people choose to visit D.C. during this time just to get a glimpse of the trees in bloom.

The best time to visit is peak bloom. Peak bloom is the estimated days 70 percent of the trees will be blooming. Washington relies on The National Park Service to report these days. They do this based on weather and from studying the trees.

Besides the trees, there is a lot going on in Washington, D.C. during this time. The Opening Ceremony kicks off the many events that occur during the following three weeks. Some of the popular events include the Blossom Kite Festival, the Petalpalooza and the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade.

The history behind the trees is interesting. They were originally gifted to be a symbol of the friendship between America and Japan. The original gift was 2,000 trees in 1910 but they were burned by President Taft because of insects and disease that infested the trees. Japan’s mayor kindly sent another 3,020 trees two years later to compensate.