Stretching two kilometers from west to east, Sakura Street is lined with cherry trees on both sides. Because it is narrower than Daigaku Street, the trees stand closer together, creating a spectacular tunnel of cherry blossoms across the sky every spring.
SideStory:The Cherry Blossoms of Sakura-dori（さくら通りの桜）
**鈴木正男さん
「そうだな あの頃の富士見台はなんにも無かった」桜の木を植えた造園業「植繁」の鈴木正男さんは、当時を思い目を細めながら話しはじめました。「まだ郵便局もなかったし、まわりは桑畑や原っぱがずっと続き、まるで畑の中に木を植えているみたいだったな」1969年富士見台団地の入居に合わせ、市道の両脇に209本の「ソメイヨシノ」が植えられました。それが今では、春になると淡いピンクの花のトンネルとなり、大学通りの桜並木とともにすっかり桜の名所となっています。鈴木さんは、自分が植えた桜の木を見上げ、「腕よりも細かったのが、こんなに太くなって、いっぱい花を咲かせてくれるのでうれしいね」と両手で抱えきれないほど大きくなった幹を撫でていました。桜の樹齢は45年余、今が盛り、今年の大いにみんなの目を、そして心を楽しませてくれそうです。
出典：第19回くにたちさくらフェスティバル実行委員会「桜を植えた男たち」(1996年）より
“That’s right. Back then, there was absolutely nothing in Fujimidai.” Mr. Masao Suzuki started his story with a warm smile as he looked back on the past. He runs “Ueshige,” the landscaping business that planted the cherry trees. “There wasn’t even a post office yet. The area was just a long stretch of mulberry fields and open fields. It felt like we were planting trees right in the middle of a farm.” In 1969, to match the opening of the Fujimidai apartment complex, 209 Somei-Yoshino cherry trees were planted along both sides of the city road. Today, every spring, they form a beautiful tunnel of pale pink blossoms. Along with the trees on Daigaku-dori, it has become a famous cherry blossom spot. Looking up at the trees he planted, Mr. Suzuki gently stroked a trunk that had grown too wide to hold in his arms. “They used to be thinner than my arm,” he said happily. “I am so glad to see them grow this big and bloom so beautifully.” These trees are now over 45 years old and are currently in full bloom. This year again, they will surely delight everyone’s eyes and touch their hearts.
Source: From “The Men Who Planted the Cherry Blossoms” (1996) by the 19th Kunitachi Sakura Festival Executive Committee