Every year around the last week of April people come from far and wide to see it in bloom. It's over 100 years old and classified as an important cultural asset. It's Nagaokakyo's most famous bush, a a large Kirishima Azalea bush at Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine.
To quote the words of one of the ALTs (assistant language teachers) who writes a column in the local Nagaokakyo City Council Newsletter. "When I saw a painting of it at a school where I was working, I didn't believe it could be so red. After seeing the real thing, it's even redder than the painting!". Yes, it is an amazing red coloured bush, that is very tricky to photograph with out blowing out the red channel! In 2009 this bush only appeared in my PBLOG as bokeh. This time I give you the bush!
Honestly, it is worth a trip to Nagaokakyo to see if you happen to be in Kansai around the last week of April. 5 minutes walk west up either Tenmangu Dori or Azalea Dori from Nagaoka Tenjin Station (on the Hankyu Railway's Kyoto Line).
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