Team DailyPedia
MANILA, Philippines. With over 30 cherry blossom trees planted in Atok, Benguet province, Filipinos will soon see blooms in the first cherry blossom or “sakura” park in the country.
The cherry blossoms, along with other tree species from Japan, were planted in Atok, which is a three-hour drive away from Baguio City, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the bond between Kochi prefecture in Japan and the Philippine province. Atok municipality officials as well as Kochi prefecture and Japanese embassy representatives were present during the planting event.
The park, located 2,000 meters above sea level, will be open to campers. These trees are expected to bloom in three years.
According to a Facebook post by the Philippine Information Agency in Cordillera, the Department of Tourism (DOT), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), whose representatives were also at the event, will support the project in the hopes that the park will be a tourist destination soon.
“The two agencies committed to support the project not only in the preservation of the environment and natural resources but also as tourist destination once the trees will grow and bear flowers.”
Regarded as one of the most beautiful flowers in the world, cherry blossoms or sakura in Japanese are found in countries like Japan, China, Korea, India, Europe, West Siberia, Canada, and the US. It is considered the national flower of Japan, along with chrysanthemum.
Every year, sakura parks in Japan attract millions of tourists worldwide. A report by the Japan National Tourism Organization showed that 37,500 out of 2 million tourists in March 2016, the cherry blossom season in the country, were Filipinos.
