Tokyo’s Nezu Shrine Hosts Riot of Colorful Azaleas

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:22 JST, April 11, 2023

Red and pink azaleas have reached peak bloom at Nezu Shrine in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo.

The annual Bunkyo azalea festival is being held in the shrine’s Tsutsuji-en garden, which has been crowded with families and foreign tourists.

There are about 3,000 azalea plants comprising some 100 varieties, with the early- and mid-blooming azaleas now at their peak, and the late-blooming varieties to flower soon. The blooms should be in top shape through the end of next week.

“The azaleas with large, white flowers are especially wonderful,” said a 71-year-old man, who visited the shrine with his wife from Tokyo’s Adachi Ward.

Springtime flowers with Tokugawa roots