I think the Japanese may have a reputation for being a bit obsessed with cherry blossoms.
This is largely justified.
To support that stereotype, here are some photographs I took recently of the cherry blossoms at Shirahata-san, my local jinja. As you might notice, they were not all taken on the same day. The precincts at Shirahata-san have several varieties of cherry trees, and they blossom at slightly different times. The last photograph was taken yesterday; I think this is the time of year when the precincts at Shirahata-san are at their most beautiful. You may recognise it from the cover of An Introduction to Shinto. Click on the images for larger versions.
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The cherry blossoms here in Seattle bloom beautifully every spring. There are many on the University of Washington campus that are the center of a cherry blossom festival in the University District of the city. I researched and they are mostly Yoshino cherry trees, along with a couple of akebono trees.
Restaurants along the main street have special cherry blossom themed fare and decorate their shop fronts. A local ice creamery made a cherry blossom flavored ice cream with dried strawberries soaked in sake. It was a lovely experience. I just thought it might be interesting for you to hear about a cherry blossom-centric festival in the US!
That does sound nice! Thank you for the comment.