The Axarquía village that celebrates Japanese culture and cherry blossom

The small village of Alfarnate in Malaga province's Axarquía became a little Japan on 18 and 19 April as it celebrated its Sakura and Sakuratón festivals, in recognition of its cherry blossom and forthcoming cherry harvest.

On Saturday the Sakuratón event, which formed part of the town hall's SakuraFusion project, funded by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, brought together local residents, farmers and visitors to plant seeds and promote sustainability, nature and culture with the aim of creating new opportunities in the village.

"This initiative seeks to improve quality of life, promote sustainable tourism and strengthen the links between tradition and innovation," the town hall said in a statement.

Then on Sunday the Sakura festival, which had been postponed from the previous weekend due to the forecast for rain, took place. Hundreds of locals and visitors participated in a full programme of events related to Japanese culture and cherry blossom including tea ceremonies, martial arts and origami workshops and a street procession with people wearing traditional Japanese clothes like kimonos.

Since the early 1990s, when the first plots were planted experimentally, cherries have become one of the village's main crops, reaching approximately 40 hectares of cultivation. While modest in volume compared to other cherry-producing areas, the fruit grown in Alfarnate is notable for its quality.

In recent years, the town hall has directly linked cherry cultivation with tourism promotion. The Sakura festival, which celebrates the cherry blossom with nods to Japanese culture, has successfully positioned the Alfarnate as a springtime destination in the Axarquía. Workshops, parades, a craft market, and themed gastronomy accompany form part of the annual festival, which also boasts the natural spectacle of the cherry blossom which attracts hundreds of visitors.