The public opening of the plum orchard began on February 5 at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto. The red plums flowered inspiringly in the cold wind, with shrine visitors thoroughly admiring the blooms.

The shrine deity, Sugawara no Michizane, loved plums, and composed a famous poem which begins, "When the east wind blows, May your fragrance awaken, Blossoms of the plum..." In memory of Michizane, about 1,500 plum trees of 50 varieties have been planted in the shrine precincts, with half of those in the plum orchard.

The early-blooming red plum trees already have flowers about 2 centimeters in diameter. The cold weather of the past few days has caused many of the buds to harden up, but if the cold lessens just a little, it appears that they could all come into bloom together. They will be at their best from late February to late March. The plum orchard will be open to the public until late March, from 10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. There is an admission fee.