In early April the mountain at Yoshino turns pink from the bottom up, wave after wave of wild cherry blossom climbing the ridge, and for a few days the whole of central Nara Prefecture seems to hold its breath. The trees are mostly the white mountain cherry known as shiro-yamazakura, planted over many centuries as offerings to Zao Gongen, the fierce mountain deity of the Shugendo tradition, and by tradition thousands of them line the slopes in four zones, lower, middle, upper and inner, so that the bloom moves uphill over about three weeks. Yoshino-jinja and the Mikumari shrine belong to the mountain's older story, a place for water and the pleas of farmers, since the name Mikumari is linked with the dividing of water.
The mountain mattered long before the picnickers came. Emperor Go-Daigo fled here in 1336 and set up the Southern Court after losing Kyoto, and the little ridge became, for decades, a rival capital. The warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi held a lavish flower-viewing party here in 1594, arriving with a vast retinue, and the shrine and temples were later part of the Shugendo pilgrimage route to Omine, the great yamabushi trail south along the ridge to Kumano, which now belongs to the World Heritage listing for the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.
Getting here by bike is a real pleasure out of season. The road follows the Yoshino river through a narrow, green valley, with cedar and cypress plantations rising steeply on both sides, tunnels and small bridges, and the sound of water below. Further south, the long Route 169 climbs through the mountains of Nara towards Kamikita and Totsukawa, quiet, twisty and often empty, and a magnet for Kansai riders on summer weekends. Autumn colour is spectacular and quieter than the cherry rush.
At blossom time, expect heavy traffic and parking restrictions on the approach, with congestion on narrow roads and limited places to leave a bike, so go on a weekday or at dawn, or skip the weekend entirely. The ropeway from the foot of the mountain and the local buses are alternatives. The village is steep, with temple lodgings, tea houses and shops selling kudzu sweets, persimmon-leaf sushi and local sake.
Yoshino has fewer than nine thousand people and Gojō, about sixteen kilometres away, is the larger town for fuel and shopping. Wrap up in cooler months, because the air in these hills is sharp, and watch for wet leaves and sudden fog.