With travel on hold, I revisited my trips by scanning all my instax photos. This day in 2018, I visited Kawazu in Japan to catch the early cherry blossoms. There are about 8000 cherry trees and it blooms a few weeks earlier than the Cherry Blossom Season.
📷: INSTAX MINI 90
More on my visit in 2018 to the admire the sakura blooms in Kawazu here.
Determined to admire some sakura, I left before daybreak to catch the early blooming variety in Kawazu. Located south of Tokyo on the Izu Peninsula, Kawazu celebrates their Sakura Festival from early February to early March. While most of Japan is still in the midst of plum blossom festivals & awaiting the arrival of sakura.
As you get off the train, you’ll see the blossoms lining the street below the train tracks. If you head to the end of the train platform, you can take a peak the cherry blossom lined river banks.
View from the end of the train platform
Can you spot the Sakura peaking below the train platform?
Eager visitors waiting at the Kawazu station.
In this town, about 2 -3 hours from Tokyo, this early blooming variety “Kawazu- zakura” was discovered about 60 years ago and was named after the town. They town systematically planted this variety along the river banks. It’s about 4 kms of cherry blossom trees and the original tree is still blooming.
This year the Kawazu-zakura Matsuri will be until the 10th of March. I visited last Sunday and there were still a few buds waiting to bloom. So there should be blossoms still after the festival.
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If visiting on the weekend, make sure to arrive early to avoid the thick crowds that arrive mid day.
Crowd that just arrived & waiting to head to the festival.
You can find loads of festival food along the river banks right beside the trees. So you can take a picnic blanket and join locals in admiring the sakuras in the Japanese tradition of Hanami. You can find skewered meats, takoyakis, noodles, rice cakes, and many food items which features cherry blossoms like Sakura flavored rice cakes and soft ice cream.
Strawberries are in season and are even better coated with chocolate. Y100
Sakura Ice Cream Y300-Y350.
Sakura rice cake
Seasonal sakura drink available in convenience stores during Hanami Season.
This was filled with Sakura. Other options was custard or red bean Y300 for one /Y500 for 3
There are foot baths you can dip your toes in.
When you exit the station, if you head left (cross the street) you’ll be heading to the coast (which is the shorter distance of lined treees) if you head to the right, you’ll be in the direction to more trees. You can stay on the right side of the banks (no need to cross the bridge) there are more segments on this side with more cherry blossom trees. If you have the entire day, i would suggest, heading first towards the coast then head up the river banks then cross to the other side of the water on the way back.
Mid morning crowd
View from the bridge facing the coast
Illumination is from 6- 9 PM.
As sakuras are widely popular even to the Japanese, expect a big crowd. I would suggest securing a ticket or seat reservation for your return trip to Tokyo early as lines in the afternoon can be long. If you’ll be planning to take the Limited express back, a seat reservation will be required. A segment of the trip (the Izukuya train line) is not covered by the JR pass or Tokyo Wide Pass.
The earliest train arrival from Tokyo is 8:35 either on the Tokkaido Main line or the Shinkansen. The shinkansen route can save you about an hour per way but will cost more. To save on train fare, you can use the JR pass or get a Tokyo Wide Pass. If you’ll br getting a pass just for this day, it would still be cheaper to take the Tokkaido main line and a limited express train.
English event brochure: http://www.kawazu-onsen.com/eng/img/sakura/Kawazu-zakuraCherryBlossomFestival.pdf
How to get here:
Option 1: from Shinagawa or Tokyo, take JR Tokkaido Main line to Atami, change to JR Ito Line to Kawazu Station. (Y1370 for the Izu Express line- not covered by JR pass)
Option 2: from Tokyo Station take Tokkaido Shinkansen to Atami (50
mins) then change to to JR Ito Line to Kawazu Station (105 station) . (Y1370 for the Izu Express line- not covered by JR pass)
Option 3: From tokyo station, take Express Odoriko to Kawazu (160 mins)
Nearest train station: Kawazu Station
Here are a few of my favorite places to see spring flowers in bloom in and around Tokyo:
Colors abound with the flora in bloom during Spring. Apart from their iconic Sakura, you can visit different temples and parks to appreciate the flora.
The Cherry blossom season in Tokyo is normally from Mid March to Mid April. Other areas may be earlier or later depending on their location. Osaka for instance is in full bloom usually before Tokyo and Hokkaido blooms far later usually in May. There are a lot of tourists during this time thus prices for flights and hotels are usually higher.
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Cherry Blossom "Sakura" |
Depending on your date and destination, you can enjoy different flowers in bloom. Early spring, you can visit Kairukuen in Mito to see thousands of Ume or Japanese Plum. Sakura or Cherry Blossom are popular throughout Japan and are usually in its peak in Tokyo between the middle of March and April.
Japanese Plum "Ume" |
If arriving late in April, you can visit the azaleas in bloom in Nezu Shrine in Tokyo. Wisterias are usually at its peak in early May or late April. You can visit Kameido Shrine in Tokyo or take the trip to Asahikaga Flower Park to see the thousand-year old wisteria trees. In early to mid May, you can still visit the Asahikaga flower park and see the other varieties of wisteria, roses in full bloom, and the other flowers and plants.
KAIRUKUEN IN MITO (LATE FEB-APRIL)
But there are many other flowers you can see during spring in case you're early or arrive after the Sakura season. Plum blossoms or "Ume" are plentiful and bloom as early as February and blooms lasts longer. The Ume is usually the 1st sign of spring. This type of flower is often mistaken to be Sakura because it looks similar to the Cherry Blossom. But a closer look at the petals and branches can help you identify which one it is. Both type of flowers come in different colors and species. The Ume have rounded petals as compared to the sakura. Ume blossoms have a stronger scent than the Sakura.
In Kairukuen, Mito, just a 70 min train ride from Tokyo, you can see thousands of plum (“Ume”) and cherry blossom (“Sakura” )trees. There are about 100 types of plum trees in the 13 hectare park.
When we visited during the festival last year, there were English Speaking Volunteer Tour Guides that can tour you around the park. To get here you'll need to climb a set of steep stairs but there is a ramp on the left side of the entrance. Entrance
The Mousou Bamboo forest, which are giant bamboo similar to the bamboo groves in Kyoto can be found in the park. There is also a natural spring called the Togyokusen.
There is a historic three storey wooden building called the Kobuntei. You get to see amazing views of the park and Senba lake.
There is also Ume flavored soft ice cream you can enjoy
How to get here. From Tokyo, take the JR Joban train to Mito. Get off at Mito Station. From Mito Station, take any bus headed to Kairukuen (15 minute bus ride) During the season the Kairukuen (Temporary station may be open)the park is a short walk from train station.
Entrance Fee: FREE (Park) Y200 for Kodokan
Hours of Operation: Park: 06:00 AM -7:00 PM Feb 20 to Sept 30 ; 07:00 -6:00 PM the rest of the year Kodokan: 09:00 AM-5:00 PM Feb 20 to Sept 30 ; 09:00 AM-04:30 PM the rest of the year
ASAHIKAGA FLOWER PARK
One of the best places to see flowers especially Wisteria is in Asahikaga Flower Park. It takes about 2 hours on the train to reach Asahikaga Station. There are no bullet trains so if you can ride a rapid or an express train it’s best to take it.
The flower season of Asahikaga is divided into 8 floral seasons. From Early January to October. The most popular is the Wisteria Story, which is in Mid April to Mid May when the wisteria and azaleas are in full bloom. The Fujinohana story – Oto Festival are held during this season to showcase the Wisteria. There is also night illumination.
Purple Wisteria |
We had visited in mid May so only a few wisteria flowers were on the branches. |
roses in bloom |
In Mid May, there are only a few purple wisteria left |
There are wisteria tunnels around the park. There are several varieties and colors of wisteria – red, purple, white and yellow
Entrance Fee: varies depending on season Y300-1200 (March –mid april ) Y900-1700 (mid april to May), Y500-Y1200 (End of May to June) Y300-Y800 (July to February)
To see entrance fee : http://www.ashikaga.co.jp/fee.html
How to get there: take the train to Asahikaga Station from Tokyo about 2 hours. Then take the shuttle bus from Asahikaga Station. It’s a bit of a walk and the park isn’t seen from the main road so it’s easy to miss it.
Shuttle Bus Timetable: http://www.ashikaga.co.jp/news/details.php?id=7
Website: http://www.ashikaga.co.jp/english/
IN TOKYO :
NEZU SHIRINE (AZALEAS in APRIL)
The Nezu Shrine is a historic shrine known for its 300 year old azalea garden that features 3000 azalea plants. The shrine itself is free and the grounds around the azalea garden. An entrance fee of Y200 though if you'd like to get a closer look and enter the garden.
The Bunkyo Azalea Festival (Tsutsuji Matsuri) usually held mid April to early May when the 100 species of azaleas are in full bloom. This year is the 48th Bunkyo Azalea Festival will be held from April 8- May 5, 2017
Make sure to visit is the row of small tori gates.
How to get there: Nezu Station (C14) on the Chiyoda Metro Line; 5-10 minute walk
Website: http://www.nedujinja.or.jp (no English site – you can use google chrome or translate )
KAMEIDO TENJIN SHRINE
If you don't’ want to spend half to full day in Asahikaga, the best place to see about a 100 purple wisteria in Tokyo is at the the Kameido Tenjin Shrine. They hold the Fuji Matsuri in late April to early May. With the Tokyo Skytree in its background, the Kameido Tenjin is close to downtown Tokyo.. There are about 300 Ume or Japanese Plum trees in bloom and the Ume festival in the shrine is usually celebrated from mid February to mid March.
Wisteria Trees |
Entrance: Free
How to Get there; about a 15 minute walk from the North Exit of the Kameido Exit or from the North Exit of Kinshicho Station
Website: http://www.kameidotenjin.or.jp/english/index.html