From the paper dated Sunday, April 19, 2026
Shonai Town’s “Tateyama Park Cherry Blossom Festival” is a big hit with the famous herring and Shonai pork roasting
Shonai Town’s “Tateyama Park Cherry Blossom Festival” began on the 18th at Tateyama Park in Karikawa, Shonai Town, where vacationers enjoyed the cherry blossoms and sampled the famous “Aburi Herring” and “Aburi Shonai Pork”.
This is an annual festival held by the town tourism association to coincide with the blooming of cherry blossoms. Herring aburi is said to be a similar custom to “Kadoyaki”, which is popular in the Mogami region, where the herring from “Shunpetsu fish” brought by fish sellers up the Mogami River after a long winter is climbed up a high mountain and eaten with sake.
The park is also a popular viewing spot that offers a panoramic view of the Shonai Plain. Designed by Dr. Yuzo Hoshino from Tsuruoka City, a park was created in 1915 to commemorate the enthronement of Emperor Taisho on the site of Karikawa Castle, the residence of Lord Kitadate Toshinaga, known for excavating the Kitatedai Weir, which is registered as a World Irrigation Facility Heritage Site. Approximately 200 Yoshino cherry trees are planted in the surrounding area.
A large number of vacationers visited from the morning of the 18th. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom due to the warm weather over the past few days, and the festival started with falling petals, but from around 10:50 a.m., when the aroma of grilled herring and other foods began to waft through the venue, people started buying them one after another, as if they couldn’t wait.
The cherry blossom festival will continue on the 19th, with performances by Amarume Hiryu Taiko and a Shonai karaoke competition.
Vacationers buying the famous grilled herring and other foods on the 18th
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