Kitano Baika-sai or "Plum Blossom Festival"

Kitano Tenmangū is a Shinto shrine in Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The shrine was first built in 947 to appease the angry spirit of bureaucrat, scholar and poet Sugawara no Michizane, who had been exiled as a result of political maneuvers of his enemies in the Fujiwara clan.

There are over 1,500 plum trees on the Kitano Tenmangū grounds, and over 50 different species are represented, visible in white, pink, and red during late winter. Sugawara no Michizane is said to have loved plum trees from a young age and admired their beauty so much that he often wrote about them in his poetry.

There is even a famous outdoor tea ceremony held every February called Baikasai where visitors can enjoy green tea served by geiko and maiko.