in 1990 a tree census revealed that flowering Cherries constituted just over a third of the city's 89,000 trees (there are currently over 130,000)...the trend started in the 1930s with gifts from the cities of Kobe and Yokohama, and subsequently another batch brought over by the local Japanese consul...alas the blossoms are short-lived, as their appearance inevitably coincides with Spring rains and winds