From this point on, blossoms will begin dropping their petals.

Saw some cherry blossoms today in Hirakata shedding. Petals were dropping off and blowing in the wind creating the snow effect that many people long to see. The ground was a beautiful mix of brown and whitish pink.

The next stage of cherry blossoms will add more color as the green leaves begin to spring forth. This point of hanami is my favorite. The bright and dark contrasting colors make for excellent photos.

According to them, radiation coming from the Fukushima plant will be passing over the Kansai region starting tonight and throughout the rest of the day tomorrow.

Click this site for the air pattern and map. Radiated Air-flow Map

Wakayama, however, did experience a tsunami along the coastal areas.

If your family lives along the coastal area of Wakayama, they may have been effected by the quake.

Japan is loaded with hot springs. The country lies along the Rim of Fire and has several active volcanoes. Below the earth’s surface, molten lava heats spring water and provides the country with a vast number of healthy mineral hot springs, or onsen in Japanese.

In the Kansai area of Japan, and about anywhere else throughout the country, you can rest assured that you will be able to find a hot spring to bathe and relax in. Some onsens, incorrect Japanese since Japanese don’t have a plural form of words, are a little pricier than others, but they are all generally cheap, from a few hundred yen to a few thousand depending on how popular and beautiful the onsen is.

To find hot springs in the Kansai area, all you have to do is go to a train or bus station and look around for fliers, Google Japanese onsen, or ask a Japanese friend to take you to a good one. Most Japanese know somewhere nice to go or can find one in your price range and flavor by grabbing a flier.

Onsen tours are popular for Japanese. Booking an onsen tour usually includes a bus ride, hotel accommodations, dinner and a breakfast for a low price. The bus rides are fairly comfortable and enable you to view Japan via large windows, great for snapping off photos. The food is usually exceptional and you will most likely leave the table stuffed before you head to the onsen to bathe. So don’t overeat! You won’t want to feel like a stuffed pig in hot water!

There are many very large hot springs where equally large numbers of people visit. They are good to visit and most are beautiful. But if you wish to have a more peaceful, relaxing bath away from the crowds, you may want to travel outside the city you are in to find a more secluded onsen. Onsens in the countryside tend to be smaller, but some have breathtaking outdoor hot pools to bathe in with views and gardens to capture your eye and ease your body. If you find an onsen like that, and there are many, you’ll definitely feel like you’re in Heaven, however, only temporarily, not eternally!

If you are traveling in Japan, make sure you come in autumn at least once in your lifetime to see the Japanese maples in their vibrant yellows, oranges and reds.

The best known areas to view maple trees are at shrines, temples and gardens. But Japanese maple trees are so abundant, you can just about see them anywhere you go. They are strewn along mountainsides and can be enjoyed even while riding a train.

Some of the best know places to view momiji in the Kansai area are:

• Kiyomizudera – Overlooking the Kyoto valley from the temple mountainside.
• Tofukuji – Take a walk through the garden and ravine or over the bridge looking down into the ravine.
• Arashiyama – Enjoy a boat ride with someone special, take a stroll through the mountains to see momiji and monkeys or get in a boat and go downriver.
• Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji – While Kinkakuji is picturesque with the Golden Pavilion in the background, Ginkakuji has a some beautifully lined streets of momiji.
• Fushimi Inari Shrine – Not only will you see lots of momiji, but with equal brilliance in color, you can enjoy a long hike through the orange-colored prayer poles up the mountain to a view overlooking Kyoto.
• Osakajo – Spring is beautiful while the cherry blossoms are in bloom, but Osakajo boasts a good amount of momiji along the many walkways around the park and along the moats.
• Minoh Falls – If you like hiking, go to Minoh and walk up to the falls viewing momiji along the way. Make sure you wear a jacket because the pathway leading to the falls is well covered with trees and cooler as you hike further up the mountain path.
• Senriyama Park – Many momiji line the paths and roads around the park. The park is also a nice place to enjoy peace and quiet close to the hustle and bustle of Osaka City life.
• Todaiji Temple – View more momiji at this temple and surrounding parks than any other place! You can spend an entire day walking through Todaiji and the grounds around the temple and never run out of beautiful scenery, momiji or deer, which only add to the beauty and separate Nara from all other momiji areas.