A waterway connecting Kyoto and Osaka Bay, long closed for flood control, reopened Sunday as Japanese transport authorities began operating a lock on the Yodo River. The water route between the major ...

including Kyoto, where Kawazu cherry blossoms have popped open in the fine weather. Kawazu blossoms appear earlier than normal sakura, and the dark pink flowers were in full bloom along the Yodo ...

During the Edo period (1603-1868), transportation by boat on the Yodo River was the primary means of travel between Osaka Bay and Kyoto, but navigation had been restricted since 1983.