Sightseeing in Izu: Sakura Viewing at the Kawazu Sakura Festival (伊豆河津桜まつり)
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Picture from Izu-Sakura
Spring is on its way here in Japan, and with spring comes yet another cherry blossom (sakura) season. While it is still too early to see the sakura here in Tokyo there are other places further south in Japan where the sakura already is in bloom, and one of them is Izu, a peninsula to the southwest of Tokyo.
Last week I traveled to Kawazu in the southern part of Izu to experience the Kawazu Sakura Festival (伊豆河津桜まつり), an event that is held annually from the beginning of February until the beginning of March. To be specific we visited Kawazu on March 4th, but unfortunately most of the sakura had already bloomed when we visited (which is why I chose to borrow a photo from Izu-Sakura for the photo above), so for those of you considering a visit I would recommend traveling mid-February instead.
Although it was too late to catch the cherry blossoms at the peak we still enjoyed visiting the area around the Kawazu river. We went on a stroll alongside the river and took pleasure from the magnificent view.
It was particularly nice to see the pretty yellow flowers called Nanohana (菜の花) which also happened to be in bloom at the same time as we visited. You can look at the picture below and imagine that the trees are filled with pink sakura flowers.. Beautiful..
Around the river area there was also a number of food stands (yatai - 屋台), many of them giving out free food samles. We got to try out various local specialities, and I ended up buying a little sakura tree that I'll try to keep alive (I tried to keep a sakura tree a couple of years ago but unfortunately it withered during the winter season).
We also visited a small shrine close to the Kawazu river called Kinomiya Shrine (来宮神社). At the shrine one could see a couple of trees that were more than a thousand years old. A marvellous sight!
Despite being a little bit too late for the mankai (満開 - full bloom) we still enjoyed Kawazu a lot. I guess the bad timing is a good excuse to come back next year.!
Finally, here's a group picture with one of the last blooming sakura trees.
-Anette
■ Basic Info
- ・Event: Kawazu Sakura Festival (伊豆河津桜まつり)
- ・Time: 10th February - 10th March
- ・Homepage: http://kawazuzakura.net/ (Japanese only)
- ・Cherry blossom spots in Izu: http://izu-sakura.com/ (Japanese only)
Related blogposts
- All blogposts from Shizuoka Prefecture
- All blogposts from Izu:
- Sightseing in Izu: The Ryugu Sea Cave (竜宮窟)
- Sightseeing in Izu: The 400-year old Bora-Naya Restaurant (ぼら納屋)
- Sightseeing in Izu: Kanto's best snorkeling spot Hirizo Beach
- Sightseeing in Izu: Sakura Viewing at the Kawazu Sakura Festival (伊豆河津桜まつり)
- All blogposts about Cherry Blossom
- Mt. Fuji & Sakura Viewing: Maruyama Kouen (丸山公園) and Iwadono Castle (岩殿城)
- Tokyo Cherry Blossom Spots: Nakameguro's Meguro-gawa River (目黒川)
- Hiking in Tokyo: Sakura viewing (花見) at Mount Takao
- Cherry Blossoms and Jogging in Tokyo: The Imperial Palace (皇居)
- The Tsubame Sakura Matsuri: Cherry Blossom PR & Last Minute Preparations
- Behind the Scene of the Tsubame Sakura Matsuri Festival - The Oiran Dochu
- Sakura Season in Kansai - Hanami in the Expo ’70 Commemorative Park!
- Spring in Japan: Sakura Season and Hanami in Kyoto!
- Spring in Kyoto: Ritsumeikan University Orientation Week and Cherry Blossom Hanami!
- Sakura Season: Weekend Trip to Nara
- Saitama: Sakura Season & Washi no Sato World Heritage Paper Making in Chichibu
- Izu: Sakura Viewing at the Kawazu Sakura Festival (伊豆河津桜まつり)
Recommended Hotels in Izu
ABBA Resorts Zagyosoh | Nishiizu Koyoi Onsen | Arcana Izu | Hotel Izukyu |
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