There are a lot of plum trees, about 10,000, along the former Koshu-Kaido road and Kobotoke River near Mt.Takao in Hachioji city in Tokyo. It is Takao plum grove called Takao baigo. There are six places, each with a name.
 Plum blossoms festival in Takao is held in March every year. I have been to the festival in 2014. In that year, it snowed in March so the plum blossoms were not blooming much.
 Plum blossoms are smaller than cherry blossoms but they smell very good. There are plum trees everywhere in Japan so I recommend that we go to see the plums somewhere.

 The first to arrive was Sekisho plum grove. The plum blossoms were in full bloom. Sekisho means “Check Point”. The place used to be a Check Point called Kobotoke Check Point.
 The Check Point was originally located at Kobotoke pass. After Hachiōji Castle fell in 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616, the first Tokugawa shogun) came to Edo (part of the current central Tokyo), and moved it to its current location.
 About after moving the Check Point, there were two gates at the west side and the east side. There were some mountains at the north. And there was a river at the south.
 The role of the Check Point was said to be for "incoming weapons and outgoing women". It was strictly prohibited to bring weapons to Edo, and any family members (wives) of the feudal lords to escape from Edo.
 The passage time of Check Point was from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, and they needed the paper passes (called Tegata). Right now the Check Point became a park. The buildings are not there anymore, but two stones remain there. One stone on which passers-by put the paper passes, and the other one which a passers-by once laid their hands.