Visitors snapped photos with their cameras and smartphones as the weeklong seasonal event opened at about 10 a.m., displaying 349 cherry trees of 134 different varieties along a roughly 560-meter path from the venue's south gate to north gate.
Mitsuo Itayama, a 79-year-old man from the city of Sakai, said, "I look forward to this event every year. I want to take time and see the beautiful cherry blossoms."
The Japan Mint selected as this year's cherry blossom prunus serrulata, or hill cherry, with a Japanese name meaning "big lantern," which boasts spherical large flowers.
The annual event has been staged for more than 130 years, uninterrupted except for during World War II and its aftermath. It offers free admittance and is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the weekend.
Tokyo's Ameyoko Market is the city's street food paradise. There is no debate. The market street runs for 400 meters along the Yamanote Line from Okachimachi to Ueno Station. (ONLY in JAPAN) 
Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture fully reopened on Friday. Severe damage caused by a powerful typhoon earlier this month had forced the closure of most of its operations.
(NHK) 
It may be a spring chicken compared to its film festival siblings in Tokyo, Yamagata and elsewhere, but the Kyoto International Film and Art Festival has reached an important milestone: its fifth anniversary. (Japan Times) 
The estimated number of visitors to Japan in August rose 4.1 pct from a year earlier to 2,577,800, marking single-digit growth for the second consecutive month due to recent disasters in the country, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday. (Jiji) 
Flight operations at Kansai International Airport in Osaka have been restored to about half the normal level, two weeks after a massive typhoon hit the island facility.
(NHK) 
The government says the damaged access bridge for Kansai International Airport in Osaka, western Japan, will likely take around 8 months to fully repair.
(NHK) 
Narita international airport was hit by a passenger check-in system glitch Tuesday, resulting in flight cancelations and delays, its operator said. (Japan Today) 
At 6 p.m. on one weekday in August an enthusiastic audience had almost filled Gion Corner, a theater of some 200 seats at the center of the Gion traditional entertainment district in the city of Kyoto. (Japan Times) 
Police in Kyoto referred to prosecutors Friday four officials of a hotel management firm for allegedly running an unlicensed private accommodation service, making it the first case of its kind since a private lodging law came into force in June. (Japan Times) 
Tokyo's Tsukiji food market will offer a final tour of its tuna auction site on Saturday, ahead of the market's closure next month. (Jiji)