The 97-Year-Old Gardener Who Is Responsible for Protecting Japan’s Most Beautiful and Iconic Trees

Every spring, during the season of the Sakura (flowered cherry blossoms), the Ninna-ji and Daikaku-ji temples, in the lush Ukyo neighborhood of Kyoto, Japan, are overflowing with tourists who arrive by bus to take pictures of the cherry blossoms of the temples. But little do they know that, just a few kilometres away, there is a secret cherry garden hidden in full view.This 1.5-hectare public plot, known as the Sano family garden, is an oasis of…